"Music is a spiritual expression of what's in your heart. Music as a way of getting rich is a pretty new thing, and I often wonder if the mega-bucks glitzy atmosphere is making the quality of music suffer. You have to work really hard to get around that and remember why you're in it in the first place: because you have to be. It's like an addiction. You can't go a day without picking up your guitar. To me, the only commercial goals that are really valid are, 'Boy, I wish I didn't have to go to work. I wish I could do this all the time." -Trey Anastasio
"Impose rules to make life simpler. Break them to make life more fun." -Jon Fishman
have you ever bought a concert ticket in advance and on the day of the show didn't feel in the mood to attend? that was me last night. you could have taken me back in time to a led zeppelin concert in 1971 and i would feel the same way. my mind was elsewhere. therefore, i struggled to connect with the show and artist.
getting back to my short review. last night i saw damien rice at park west. i bought my ticket months ago based on a friend's opinion. cameron, my friend, saw damien perform at an industry event in boulder, colorado and thought he was amazing. with that i was sold. i logged on to ticketmaster.com and purchased a ticket. nuff said.
for those not familiar with damien, he's an irishman. his music is soft, mostly acoustic and heavy. i finally picked up his disc last weekend and wasn't impressed with my first listen. i never trust a first listen though. music typically grows on me.
the all ages show began at roughly 8 pm and concluded at 10 pm. i felt it was a good show, but it didn't dazzle me. i grew tired of him using the microphone that distorts his voice. why use it? he has a pretty voice and doesn't need it. some of the extended jams reminded me of dave matthew live. don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad show. damien was actually very solid. i would definitely recommend checking him out if/when he comes to your town.
i'm undecided what i think of damien. he's received a lot of attention in the press and on vh1 lately. in addition, last night's crowd seems to think he's the next big thing.