July 28 2008: Aimee Mann, Ashley Pond - Washington Park Lakehouse, Albany NY
Caitlin and I found out about this free show in a park a couple days ago. So we figured we should go. And it was fun, even though I didn't know most of the tunes that were played. I didn't even know she had a new album until yesterday. And listening to it in the car on the way to the show wasn't exactly the level of listening that seems to be required to uncover the quiet brilliance of her albums.
She opened with a few new tunes, followed by "Save Me," "Wise Up" and "Calling it Quits." It was pretty good playing, but the bass was pretty high in the mix. And there was no lead guitar player, just two keyboard players. Which was too bad - I feel like a good lead player is pretty important to her songs, and the keyboardists weren't able to do the same thing. But who cares - it was free and Caitlin and I were eating tomato/spinach/mozzarella sandwiches and drinking Widmers. A couple older tunes followed (including "4th of July," which I think she's played every time I've seen her and I don't understand why), then few new ones, and finally a set-closer of "How am I Different," which I'd never seen played before. So that was lots of fun. It was always one of my favorite of her tunes.
Somewhere in the middle there she said the show was being paid for with money that Elliott Spitzer got by suing record labels for payola when he was Attorney General. So, uh, go Elliott Spitzer.
The encore was "Today's the Day" and "Deathly." Two pretty great tunes. I think she's closed with "Deathly" every time I've seen her. Probably for good reason. But the keyboard-only arrangement of "Today's the Day" left out the guitar solo breakdown, which I always thought was the best part of the song.
I was slightly disappointed to hear nothing from "The Forgotten Arm," which I really really really like, and only one tune from "Lost in Space," which is a pretty fucking brilliant and only seems more so with time. But now I guess it's time to listen seriously to that new record and in six months kick myself for not appreciating the new tunes as much as I should have.
She opened with a few new tunes, followed by "Save Me," "Wise Up" and "Calling it Quits." It was pretty good playing, but the bass was pretty high in the mix. And there was no lead guitar player, just two keyboard players. Which was too bad - I feel like a good lead player is pretty important to her songs, and the keyboardists weren't able to do the same thing. But who cares - it was free and Caitlin and I were eating tomato/spinach/mozzarella sandwiches and drinking Widmers. A couple older tunes followed (including "4th of July," which I think she's played every time I've seen her and I don't understand why), then few new ones, and finally a set-closer of "How am I Different," which I'd never seen played before. So that was lots of fun. It was always one of my favorite of her tunes.
Somewhere in the middle there she said the show was being paid for with money that Elliott Spitzer got by suing record labels for payola when he was Attorney General. So, uh, go Elliott Spitzer.
The encore was "Today's the Day" and "Deathly." Two pretty great tunes. I think she's closed with "Deathly" every time I've seen her. Probably for good reason. But the keyboard-only arrangement of "Today's the Day" left out the guitar solo breakdown, which I always thought was the best part of the song.
I was slightly disappointed to hear nothing from "The Forgotten Arm," which I really really really like, and only one tune from "Lost in Space," which is a pretty fucking brilliant and only seems more so with time. But now I guess it's time to listen seriously to that new record and in six months kick myself for not appreciating the new tunes as much as I should have.
posted by Peter Sohriakoff | 3:15 AM
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