Brandi Carlile is definitely more awesome than the Red Sox

Allright. A couple of days ago, I did my best attempt at a concert review of the Brandi Carlile show in Northampton. Now that my 2 days of experiencing Brandi's fall tour have come to a close, I'm at a loss for what else to say. I think I've already showcased her music, told you how awesome she is on stage, and attempted to describe the energy in the room during one of her shows.

The only thing left do, I think, is tell you my personal experience at the show in Boston last night. I know the Red Sox are a hard thing to compete with in this town, especially when they're playing right across the street. And at first, I had my doubts. The show wasn't sold out, and the neighborhood was filled with hot dog vendors and rabid baseball fans before the show. As opener Katie Herzig took the stage and I could still hear chatting by the bar in fierce Boston accents, I was still a little worried about just how enthusiastic this crowd was going to be.

But my worries subsided the minute Brandi, the twins, Josh and Alli took the stage, stood angelically around one mic, and launched into "Oh Dear." The room was impeccably quiet, and the house had filled up to almost sold out. Let me back up for a minute here, though, because I need to express my gratitude to those wonderful forum members who were vigilant enough about standing in line and being organized, that we ended up standing exactly front and center the entire time. Even though I'm short and I usually try to squeeze myself in between the tall people, I don't ever get that good of a spot! Sitting in the front row of a seated theater doesn't even compare to being right at Brandi's feet, which were adorably bare last night.


They then brought the house down with "Looking Out," which I think is going to be my favorite off the new album. I'd only heard it acoustic before, but the driving bass and drums really gives it a rock anthem feel. What happened next is something I've only seen at Indigo Girls shows and maybe Hillel campfires... Brandi and the band started playing "What Can I Say," and the entire audience sang along. Now, I've heard audiences sing to this song before, as it is one of her most recognizable, but not like that. Usually, it's about 100 people in the first few rows that rally a little bit and try to encourage the rest of the audience. Last night, it was immediately apparent that almost everyone there had made the effort to come out just to see Brandi, and they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into. They came prepared to participate.

"Late Morning Lullaby" and "My Song," both from her album "The Story," were both filled with the same energy, and even Brandi was impressed with our singing. When she then stepped away from the mic and the twins picked up their acoustic guitars, she was able to quiet everyone down to near silent, and got away with playing "Dying Day" completely unplugged, even in a room where she said she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it. The last time I saw her attempt this in a venue around the same size - the House of Blues in Los Angeles, people at the bar were still looking the other way and chatting with each other, and it didn't work so well. In Boston, she had everyone's undivided attention for the entire 2 hours.


I'm so glad I moved to a city who loves Brandi, but I never expected this from Bostonians. I mean, this is a town who collectively loves things like baseball and Aerosmith. I never expected the same people to be Brandi Carlile fans. And before you go all, "Gabi, did you look around the audience? Did you notice anything about the majority of the people there?" I will say, yes, I know the culture of Brandi fans. Believe me, I know - I'm one of them (did I mention a certain website I frequent?) But while we had our requisite lesbians and hippie chicks, there were also plenty of straight guys in Red Sox caps who chanted right along with her when she introduced "Folsom Prison Blues" as a "song by the late, great, Johnny Cash."

What was even more great about the audience, is that we were so busy singing, there were almost no inappropriate comments from the audience, except for the one requisite "Marry me, Brandi" comment from some girl, to which Brandi gracefully replied, "Well, this is Massachusetts." Otherwise, though, everybody was mostly too busy actually paying attention to Brandi and the band instead of calling attention to themselves.

But seriously, back to the set list. I just about died when I was standing 5 feet away from Brandi, and the band launched into her cover of "Creep." As soon as I heard the first few drumbeats, I was in heaven. Remember that sexy growl thing I was talking about the other day? Nowhere is it more evident than in Brandi's throaty, all encompassing rendition of "Creep." A friend of mine said of the Northampton show that "music flows through her," and it certainly does. I've only heard her sing that live maybe once before, so it was a huge highlight of the show for me. I won't get into the inappropriate details of why I love that song so much, but... oh, what the hell, watch it for yourself. (Disclaimer: I wasn't really looking at the camera when I shot this...)



They closed the show with "The Story," and then launched into a 4 song encore, anchored by rocking renditions of "Folsom Prison Blues" and new song "Pride and Joy." It's a great note to end on - "Pride and Joy" has everything we've come to expect from a Brandi Carlile performance - a heart wrenching verse and chorus that starts off slow and crescendos into a rock anthem full of emotion, cello solos, electric guitars, driving drums, and lots of guitar sex. Rockstar!Brandi and the band finished with a flourish, and then practically skipped off stage, leaving us with their surge of adrenaline. Throughout the show, Brandi was all smiles and giddy excitement over the audience's enthusiasm, and I think she had a hard time leaving the stage.


Which brings me to my last few sentences about Brandi for a while. Before I sign off on writing about this fall tour, I need to address the issue of "Hallelujah." I know, I know. A lot of your eyes roll back into your head and glaze over upon seeing that song title written in conjunction with Brandi's name. But let me make my case. I love Brandi's rendition of "Hallelujah." I just plain love it. The first time I saw her play, back in LA, she played "That Year," and then said, "that was supposed to be my last song, but I just can't leave the stage," and started playing "Hallelujah." I was sold on it ever since. If our cynical LA audience wasn't already impressed with her voice, that song sealed the deal. Seeing her do it live really convinces you, 'this girl's voice is amazing.' So, I just don't get sick of hearing it, and I feel remiss whenever I leave a show where she didn't play it. I know this may get me in trouble, but I would trade "The Story" for "Hallelujah" any day. When the band finished "Pride and Joy," it almost looked like she wanted to stay... and that's what I wanted at the end. I wanted that, "you know what? I'm going to play one more song" moment, the one that made me fall in love with her in LA.