the concept of a venue with an underage balcony and a 21 and over floor excited me. I grabbed a cup of coffee and made my way to the second row and sat down.
Wakey Wakey's lead Michael Grubbs was what brought me to Portland. but what captivated me was much more.
i am not a fan of opening bands, until i met Andrew Belle.
there are few words i can use to describe music, because of the intense love affair that i have with her.
music is my muse, my ic, my soul. its quite beautful and intimate.
"nothing goes as planned, everything will break, people say goodbye, in their own special way....oh you're in my veins and i can not get you out..." these words from a previously unreleased ballad, andrew explained, were first heard by the world on the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. but that isnt the only place to hear Belle.
his music has been used by MTV and the CW.
the music is that which makes love to you, and you listen to while you make love. its passionate and overpowering, beautiful and intense, enthralling and awe inspriing.
his soft vocals resonated through the intimate venue and there was complete silence. His stories give the feeling of falling in love, of seeing "her" for the first time, of "him" reaching out and grabbing your hand, that emotion that you feel maybe a handful of times in your life yet try to find every day. I have only been exposed to this feeling through music a handful of times, and his entire set was the exception to the rule. i was touched.
such a beautiful display of emotions set to melody is worthy of far more than a 10$ cover charge.
I immediately went and picked up his album "the ladder" from the merch table (the title track being one of my own favorites", and also the EP "all those pretty lights". they accompanied me on the way home from Portland, all the way to my "for now" home of Salem.
its music that takes you in, and leaves you spinning. i got into my car and i was still singing, i was writing songs in my head. it was beautiful.
After Andrew left the stage, Grubbs came on and set up a simple little keyboard; he learned with this being his first tour with airplanes, that you can not fly a full size keyboard and was improvising on every stop along the way.
accompanying him was Caitlin moe (i know i butchered her name...but i cant even find her on friggin google...which is a shame) she was incredible.
while he usually rocks out with another violinist, this beautiful girl provided some of the sweetest sounds that instrument can make, and at times it seemed by her expression that the music was touching even her, as if it were her first time hearing it. Comic relief present gave the vibe of what Grubbs himself compared to a "house party", and that could not have been more proven by the reaction and the wonder as a result of his rendition of "girls just wanna have fun".
the perfect balance of stage presence, beautiful songs and music, as well as a relationship with his audience that only Michael Grubbs could pull off, left such a positive air to the room after he closed his set.
Songs to Pay attention to: Dance So Good, War Sweater, Almost Everything, Brooklyn, Car Crash among others.
in either case, both musicians albums run around 10$ a piece, and its completely worth it.
they are both touring right now in very select cities so check out their webpages and go see them :]
she was AMAZING.
sentimental you, and faithful me.
Sing it Grubbs.
No comments:
Post a Comment