Caught the Hotel Cafe Tour in Boulder last night. Check out more about the project here:
First, let me say I discovered that I definitely DO spend too much time at the Fox Theatre... see my Ben Kweller review for a bit of background. I went to pick up my ticket at the box office last night and the woman working said something about how I should enter their Halloween contest, with as much money as I spend there... I was going to ask her about this Halloween thing, but there were several people behind me and I thought I'd be polite. I figured I could learn about it on their website, but I can't find anything. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be there again before the end of the month.
I have been in charge of my sister's kids this week, and they tend to wake me up before 7:00 in the morning so I decided not to drink last night. Well, my favorite bar wench came by 3 or 4 times to see if anyone needed drinks. After telling her I was OK the last time she came by, she said "well, that's surprising!". Ha ha. I swear I am not a drunk. I just love the Fox.
Anyway, tonight the Hotel Cafe Tour featured 6 artists. There were no set breaks, and everyone got about a 25 minute time slot. Except for Brett Dennen, who went for about an hour.
First up: Schuyler Fisk. As soon as she came out on stage a feeling came over me that she was so familiar. Then Leah told me that she's Sissy Spacek's daughter. It's pretty obvious, she looks just like Sissy. But still, I really thought I recognized her from somewhere, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe I was thinking of Carrie... I mean:
Schuyler -
Sissy -
Nevertheless, I couldn't help but IMDB her when I got home. Sure enough, she was in an episode of Law & Order SVU last season. She's also acted in a lot of other stuff, but I'm certain that SVU is where I recognize her from. Yeah, I watch SVU. I'm not ashamed to admit it.
I enjoyed her set - nothing earth shattering as far as her songwriting, but she has a fabulous voice.
Next up - Joshua Radin. I like Josh, I really do. I think he's a good singer-songwriter. But his songs put me to sleep. I don't mean that in a bad way, but he's so mellow... he did 20 minutes of music that really did make me want to sleep, then a great rendition of "Cecilia" with Brett Dennen.
Next was Cary Brothers. That's Cary Brothers, not THE Cary Brothers... lol. Guess you had to be there. Holy shit, that boy has a set of pipes. I was introduced to him via the Garden State soundtrack and promptly checked out his EPs from last year - All The Rage & Waiting For Your Letter. Good stuff, but he's so so so much better live. As it should be. I enjoyed his set a lot.
It occured to me that the first half of the show could have easily been called the "Zach Braff Soundtrack Tour". All 3 artists have been featured on the Garden State soundtrack, the Last Kiss soundtrack, and/or Scrubs.
After Cary was The Weepies. I was not familiar with them at all. Apparently they had a song featured in Grey's Anatomy. They were a fun, folksy duo.
It was during The Weepies set that we migrated over to a spot that would have been perfect if not for the crazy dancing woman in front of me. Now, I have no issues with people dancing and having a good time at a show. But. This woman seemed to feel that she was entitled to a 3 foot radius in which to dance. I started out standing a good two feet behind her, yet she still managed to step on my feet no less than 3 times, hit me with her elbow at least half a dozen times, and back right up into me several more times. On top of that, she never even acknowledged the fact that she kept hitting me!! I don't even think she was drunk.... unless she has really really good drunken balance.
Anyway, after The Weepies was Joe Purdy. His set was great, really rocking. More of the crazy dancing lady invading my personal space.
Last up was Brett Dennen, his last night on the tour. He put on a great show - got the crowd involved and was clearly having a great time. Cary came out about halfway through his set and talked him into doing the "Galapagos Turtle". It took Brett a moment to get into character (Terry, the Galapagos Turtle) then he proceeded to eat corn chips out of Cary's hand. I can't really describe the spectacle, but as Leah said, that alone was worth the $15... lol.
So, the Hotel Cafe Tour was fabulous. And for a good cause. Hooray.
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