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chuckroThis was sorta-kinda a Blues Traveler concert, in that they did Blues Traveler songs, but it was more of a “chamber piece” setlist and featured only Popper and keyboardist Ben Wilson.
Popper is very entertaining. He's got a lot of patter and stories to tell that make this sort of concert work. His singing style—which I hadn't quite realized was his go-to standard—involves pretty much always craning his neck upwards. I have to wonder if it's a breathing thing. And, of course, he's probably the best harmonica player you'll ever see.
(I also feel a little bad for Popper, as he did the “fat guy wearing a fedora” thing before it was a thing that defined internet trolls. At least he's clean-shaven now?)
In terms of amusing stories: “Look Around” was apparently originally about the Kennedy Assassination, but he came back to what he'd written in stages later on and added the other verses because he liked the structure he'd come up with, and then ended up removing all of the Kennedy stuff. “Carolina Blues” is about a girl who punched him in the face (he'd said something dumb and apparently deserved it). The word-packed third verse of “Hook” was apparently written that way to spite his brother following an argument about song structure.
And I think I'd forgotten how important “Just Wait” was to me. (four was actually the fourth CD I ever bought, amusingly.) Apparently, as Jethrien noted, it was important to a lot of people.
The opening act was Katrina Woolverton, who I'd never heard of before. Her voice is very impressive; but her songwriting skills less so. I'd listen to her do covers all day, though.
Overall: I rather love the intime concert style City Winery offers. They're three for three for concerts I've seen there.
Popper is very entertaining. He's got a lot of patter and stories to tell that make this sort of concert work. His singing style—which I hadn't quite realized was his go-to standard—involves pretty much always craning his neck upwards. I have to wonder if it's a breathing thing. And, of course, he's probably the best harmonica player you'll ever see.
(I also feel a little bad for Popper, as he did the “fat guy wearing a fedora” thing before it was a thing that defined internet trolls. At least he's clean-shaven now?)
In terms of amusing stories: “Look Around” was apparently originally about the Kennedy Assassination, but he came back to what he'd written in stages later on and added the other verses because he liked the structure he'd come up with, and then ended up removing all of the Kennedy stuff. “Carolina Blues” is about a girl who punched him in the face (he'd said something dumb and apparently deserved it). The word-packed third verse of “Hook” was apparently written that way to spite his brother following an argument about song structure.
And I think I'd forgotten how important “Just Wait” was to me. (four was actually the fourth CD I ever bought, amusingly.) Apparently, as Jethrien noted, it was important to a lot of people.
The opening act was Katrina Woolverton, who I'd never heard of before. Her voice is very impressive; but her songwriting skills less so. I'd listen to her do covers all day, though.
Overall: I rather love the intime concert style City Winery offers. They're three for three for concerts I've seen there.
no subject
Date: 2017-09-28 11:30 am (UTC)