Melting Pot
I love my camera. It takes good pictures in dark places -- like where there are concerts. Last night, Stephanie and I went to the Egg in Albany to see Shawn Mullins and Dar Williams. (I'm a huge fan of Shawn Mullins and seeing him play solo is haunting and inspirational).
Before the concert, we had dinner at the Melting Pot -- which just opened at the Crossgates Mall a few months ago. I tried explaining what eating at the Melting Pot is like to my dad earlier today and I found that I just couldn't put it into words. It's... quite different and incredibly expensive (imagine the most expensive meal you've ever had and then eat at the Melting Pot -- you'll have a new most expensive meal you've ever had). Still, it might just be worth it for the different experience now and again.
The Egg is quite a cool place to see a concert. It's relatively small compared to most concert places and it creates an intimacy that you can't get at larger venues. I wrote about it in an earlier post. I had seen Pete Yorn at the Egg last year.
Shawn Mullins opened. He played solo. The first song he played was The Ballad of Billy Joe McKay, which is one of his story songs off of Soul's Core -- the album that contains Lullaby and Shimmer (his only real "hits"). He also played Twin Rocks, Oregon, another story song, which is also from Soul's Core and happens to me one of my favorites. In fact, Twin Rocks, Oregon is a song that really inspired me to write my own songs thanks to lines like: I don't know what I've been Looking for. Maybe me. and: Ain't it a blessing to do what you want to do. Shawn also played a few songs from his new album, Honeydew, including All in my Head and Home, and Beautiful Wreck off of 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor. He ended with Lullaby (not before I yelled out: Shawn, how's Jack. To which he laughed and explained that Jack the dog is a homebody and not a touring companion like his old dog was) and he played Shimmer somewhere in the set.
I loved his set. He played all of my favorite songs of his (except for Blue as You -- but Twin Rocks, Oregon makes up for it) and I took some good pictures:
Dar Williams took the stage with a djimbe player and a pianist... and without her guitar. She apologized and hurried off the stage to get it. I had never seen Dar Williams perform before and was only familiar with a few of her songs until last night, so I really didn't much of an idea of what to expect from her set. What impressed me about her most was her lyrics. They are deep and thoughtful, sensitive and introspective -- the kind of stuff I like. She played most of the set with her additional musicians, but played a few songs solo. I liked her solo songs a lot because the tone fit more with her lyrics than her more pop-based songs did.
Here are some pictures:
When we first arrived at the Egg, we saw Gary Moon (who is a wonderful singer/songwriter and big Dar Williams fan). John Townsend, who used to work at the door at Lena's and who is a singer/songwriter as well, was also there. It's cool to see familiar faces at concerts. Especially, faces that belong to people who share the same taste in music as you and who write songs themselves.
Before the concert, we had dinner at the Melting Pot -- which just opened at the Crossgates Mall a few months ago. I tried explaining what eating at the Melting Pot is like to my dad earlier today and I found that I just couldn't put it into words. It's... quite different and incredibly expensive (imagine the most expensive meal you've ever had and then eat at the Melting Pot -- you'll have a new most expensive meal you've ever had). Still, it might just be worth it for the different experience now and again.
The Egg is quite a cool place to see a concert. It's relatively small compared to most concert places and it creates an intimacy that you can't get at larger venues. I wrote about it in an earlier post. I had seen Pete Yorn at the Egg last year.
Shawn Mullins opened. He played solo. The first song he played was The Ballad of Billy Joe McKay, which is one of his story songs off of Soul's Core -- the album that contains Lullaby and Shimmer (his only real "hits"). He also played Twin Rocks, Oregon, another story song, which is also from Soul's Core and happens to me one of my favorites. In fact, Twin Rocks, Oregon is a song that really inspired me to write my own songs thanks to lines like: I don't know what I've been Looking for. Maybe me. and: Ain't it a blessing to do what you want to do. Shawn also played a few songs from his new album, Honeydew, including All in my Head and Home, and Beautiful Wreck off of 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor. He ended with Lullaby (not before I yelled out: Shawn, how's Jack. To which he laughed and explained that Jack the dog is a homebody and not a touring companion like his old dog was) and he played Shimmer somewhere in the set.
I loved his set. He played all of my favorite songs of his (except for Blue as You -- but Twin Rocks, Oregon makes up for it) and I took some good pictures:
Dar Williams took the stage with a djimbe player and a pianist... and without her guitar. She apologized and hurried off the stage to get it. I had never seen Dar Williams perform before and was only familiar with a few of her songs until last night, so I really didn't much of an idea of what to expect from her set. What impressed me about her most was her lyrics. They are deep and thoughtful, sensitive and introspective -- the kind of stuff I like. She played most of the set with her additional musicians, but played a few songs solo. I liked her solo songs a lot because the tone fit more with her lyrics than her more pop-based songs did.
Here are some pictures:
When we first arrived at the Egg, we saw Gary Moon (who is a wonderful singer/songwriter and big Dar Williams fan). John Townsend, who used to work at the door at Lena's and who is a singer/songwriter as well, was also there. It's cool to see familiar faces at concerts. Especially, faces that belong to people who share the same taste in music as you and who write songs themselves.