Darrell Scott, Franklin Theater August 13, 2011:
This is the most recent show I attended based on the recommendation of my friend, Mike. I didn’t do any prep listening so I wasn’t sure what to expect other than what Mike had told me. I was very impressed. This guy is fantastic! The venue was great and he performed along side a quintet. The arrangements were nicely done and suited the songs perfectly. I am definitely going to give his albums a spin, too. He also did one thing better than any performer I’ve seen in a long time. He didn’t leave the stage and do the lame encore thing. He just said, “This is our last song…but it’s not.” And continued to play. Loved that! The encore is so overdone and a joke these days. Just play your music!!! Anyway that part might have been the highlight of the evening….
The Decemberists with Caitlyn Rose, Ryman Auditorium August 6, 2011:
I’ve seen these guys 5 times now. I definitely like them in the smaller venue as opposed to the festival. The have much better interaction with the crowd. Colin Meloy definitely likes to have the crowd do it ‘his way’. By that I mean stand up, sit down, and 2-step. But other than him acting like a condescending puppet master between songs the set was extremely well done! Probably the 2nd best performance I’ve seen.
Caitlyn Rose was impressive. She had an eager yet timidness that was very endearing. You could tell she was excited and very nervous to be on the Ryman stage. It felt like I was watching her dream come true. Overall, this was another nice evening in the pews.
