Tag: Shows

8 Nov – Pompano Beach Amphitheatre (Pompano Beach, FL)
w/ Indigo Girls

When we first arrived it immediately felt odd. I noticed before the Orlando show that having a day off seems to affect the next show, I felt out of rhythm. It’s hard to explain. The Pompano Beach Amphitheatre was listed as having 3000 seats but somehow I find that doubtful. The area of town felt more like we were playing at a high school, though the amphitheatre itself was very nice. Just not 3000 seats. Shortly before the show we found out there were 1900 tickets sold, which I think is probably the biggest crowd of the tour so far, if that’s correct.

We soundchecked the cover song with Amy, Emily and Rose and at one point it was the three of them and myself and Lyle standing around making sure we had the harmonies right. Robyn’s camera battery had died and so there’s no photo, but that was a pretty cool moment.

Just before we went on the crowd in the actual theatre was very light and I figured they were just going to hang out until the Girls came on. But Amy introduced us again and this time told people that they should come inside and listen to us. The amazing thing about these shows is that, of course, they did. So by the time we started, the place was full. One song in and they were really responding. We played, overall, the tightest, most comfortable show so far. It really is very dependent on the crowd in a lot of ways, the adrenaline from a good response can cover a multitude of things, but we were just tight in general last night, I think. We did the cover last and the Girls and Rose walked out just before the chorus and the crowd went up. It was a blast.

I think now is a good time for another report from Robyn who remembers many more things than I do after a show:

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i was backstage at first. i was afraid the same thing would happen to me like it did in orlando and i would be hassled by security for wanting to get back in. but then i reminded myself i was now wearing the all-powerful indigo girls “all access” badge and that meant i, too, was all-powerful. i left after “hey, california” to watch the rest of the show from the back of the amphitheatre.

the crowd really was responsive. paul, after familiarizing himself with the beachy amphitheatre-style setting, reminded people to purchase his cd after buying their pork and cappuccino from the nearby concession stands. or a mixture of the two. “you could get a pork cappuccino.” and lee chimed in, “a porkuccino.” i say this because a). it was hilarious; b). it demonstrates paul’s comfort with the audience on this stage; and c). they were on last night. everyone…paul, the band, the audience.

the set was great…but let’s cut to the quick, shall we?

the girls and rose came out just before the chorus of the cover to sing along with paul. there was cheering. but i don’t think the cheering for them was as loud as when he began the “creep” section of the cover. i heard girls screaming and saw hands thrown up in the air while clapping. he nailed the high parts and i caught myself whispering “yes!” as he got to the final high part. the girls and rose sounded great with the song. it was awesome.

i ran backstage just before it was over, and caught emily saying, “that was FUN.” as she walked off stage. amy was angry with herself for missing her notes. “i just couldn’t get it.” it was kinda funny to hear someone who always seems to have perfect pitch say such a thing. especially when you couldn’t tell at all. i guess that comes with being a musician.

i escorted paul to the merch table – i love doing that; it makes me feel like his bodyguard – and there were people already buying cds. it’s always fun to see the look on people’s faces when they see him out there, too. girls will whisper to one another, “look, there he is.” and other people will cautiously walk up to him, then others will bound up to him with excitement.

a woman from a nearby community college interviewed him. a random man who was also at the orlando show said he could go home now; he had come to see what he wanted to see. another said he was so pleased to have seen such a great opener, another wrote that this was the first opening act he had ever liked…EVER. it was a good show.

and then “kid fears.” paul walked on stage and some girl screamed “PAUL!” i think twice. and when he started singing his part (which was just beautiful), the people who had rushed the stage couldn’t figure out who to watch. which, when you think about it, is very impressive. for such crazed devoted fans who can’t stop screaming amy or emily’s name or who can’t keep their eyes off of them, paul made an impression.

a few more cd autographs in the rain and we were off to IHOP. now, off to tampa. to do it all over again.
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Robyn, who is Chris’ wife, has been an amazing tour manager, by the way. She has kept me sane through this whole thing by constantly being on top of the small details.

So, currently we’re driving to Tampa, and I realized today that the travel between locations does quickly become sort of repetitive. It’s hard to discern where you are at a given time because after awhile it just become rote and one road is pretty much like the last. That in itself, at least at this stage when it’s all still new, is sort of cool.

6 Nov – Hard Rock Live (Orlando, FL)
w/ Indigo Girls

Guessing here at the outset this post will be much shorter than the other two. This was a strange show. Before we went on Amy said it reminded her of playing Las Vegas and that’s really as good an approximation as any. When we started I could only see the first few rows and it looked as if the crowd was very light, but as the lights brightened I could see they were mostly crowded around the bars at the back.

The Hard Rock in Orlando is a strange place. It’s large, just a bit smaller in capacity than the Florida Theatre was, but there are several bars in the back of the room. Also, maybe more importantly, it’s in the middle of Universal so the crowd is a very strange mix of fans and just people who are out at Universal. Near the end of the set when I mentioned that we just had a couple of songs left someone shouted out “hurry up and play the two songs!” My voice didn’t hit the high part for the first time in the cover we’ve been playing.

Still, I saw my name on a huge marquee. We played “Guy Fawkes Day” since we didn’t have a show on the 5th. I met Rose Polenzani, who’s also on Daemon and just happened to be down in Florida this week. She is extremely friendly, she did a couple of songs with the Girls and she and I talked about me singing backup on one of them for the next couple of shows (she’s traveling along with them for the next two dates). I sang on “Kid Fears” again and this time felt very comfortable with it. I tried to sing it like I wasn’t shy, and both of them seemed really happy with how it sounded… Emily blew me a kiss after we were done.

I neglected to mention the CD sales for the last show, but we did extremely well in Jacksonville. Last night we did alright, which is really sort of a funny statement since we really did much better than we would at any normal show we’d play.

Today is another day off.

4 Nov – Florida Theatre (Jacksonville, FL)
w/ Indigo Girls

We’re two shows in and driving to Orlando as I write, and I already don’t know what to say. I have known in my head all along that this would be something completely different for me. I also know there’s a let down coming once we’re back and I’m back to booking into clubs where no one knows us or cares, as if none of this ever happened. It was in my head last night when we first walked into the Florida Theatre, which looks very much like a smaller version of the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. It’s one of those Egyptian influenced, extremely ornate movie palaces from the early thirties or so. It was beautiful.

People who know me well, or even people who’ve been reading these for a while, know that I have trouble letting things sink in. A lot of what has happened over the past few months for me have not hit me the way that people around me seem to think they should have. It’s not a conscious thing, I don’t do it on purpose. But moments like this I tend to overthink and overanalyze until any impact they might have is pretty much gone. But something occurred in Gainesville, with the whole flyer thing, and suddenly everything is much more on the surface for me. It may even be an effect of watching the Indigo Girls playing for their fans that is leaving me feeling very awed. It’s hard to put into words.

Last night I sang with them on “Kid Fears.”

A few people had joked with me before we left that I should be ready to do that song, apparently it’s a common thing when there are male vocalists available who can do the Michael Stipe part of that song, but I don’t think I honestly thought that would be what happened. Even in Gainesville when Amy said she was going to have us up the next night, I was under the impression it would be on “Closer to Fine” or something. But when it came up last night before soundcheck she suggesting having me up for “Kid Fears.” I haven’t heard the song since college when I owned the CD and it was my favorite song on it at the time so I remembered the melody pretty much but not the lyrics. So she wrote out the part for me and we went over it during their soundcheck. Luckily it all came back to me sort of instinctively.

Part of me thinks maybe I’m not the person to try and explain all this. Let’s see if Robyn feels like typing…

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i do feel like typing, because there is nothing more fun for me than to talk about how amazing all this is!

i was sitting in the empty theatre – the beautifully ornate theatre and home to a lone rat i saw scream across the floor – waiting to watch paul and the indigo girls rehearse the song. i was so excited. when amy mentioned that she wanted him to sing that one, i knew immediately that he had to do it. he was cute and diplomatic and discussed doing the song with his band. he knew the song would include only him, so he wanted to make sure they we okay with that. of course they all told him they thought he should do it. and boy, did he ever.

they called him up on stage and amy asked if he wanted her to sing it through first. he agreed. but when they started, he jumped right in, singing the low part first and then busting the hell out of the higher part. amy and emily looked at each other with total amazement, but kept singing. when they were done, amy said, “man, you’ve got that down.” and emily replied with “it sounds beautiful.” “yeah, he’s got that voice like michael stipe and matthew sweet.” and emily said, “only HIS voice is much sweeter.” you can tell that they love him.

anyway, they rehearsed a couple more times and a lady in the audience said, “that was amazing. really. i hope he’s not signed, i just started a new label.” amy quickly responds with a “um…yeah…he just signed with me. he’s on MY label.” i giggled and she looked over at me so smugly. she won and she knew it. the lady responded by saying, “well, he’s absolutely amazing. i’m blown away.”

“well, wait until you see his show,” amy responded proudly.

i followed them to the dressing room, not because i’m a freak, but because i actually had to go there, too, and they were talking about him the whole way.

i could go on. i will for maybe just a paragraph more.

i didn’t get to see much of the show; i was at the merch table selling cds (i’ll let paul tell you how many he sold), but i shut down the table long enough to see the actual performance of “kid fears.” and that lady was right; it was amazing. when amy introduced him back to the stage, people were screaming and clapping – all for him. it was awesome.

the song started and people cheered with recognition. he was terribly adorable, standing there with his hands in his pockets, a couple of steps away from the mic. but that’s just the goofy girl in me talking.

it was time for his part and as usual he nailed it. a couple in front of me looked at each other the minute the words came out of his mouth and smiled and nodded with approval. i think everyone approved. paul wins!

i had to rush back to the merch table after it was over. i knew there was more selling to be done. i just didn’t know there would be that much more.

people were buying and immediately ripping the wrappers off the cds to have him sign them. he was a signing maniac. one girl even asked him to sign her hand.

and i explain all this like it’s the coolest thing ever, but it’s really very surreal. all of it. and if it’s like that for me, i can’t imagine what it’s like for paul.

and now i’ve worked myself into a mood — not a bad one, but one i’m not sure i can describe — and that was way more than one more paragraph anyway. so i’m done now.
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Well, so, more or less, yes that’s correct. I don’t think they were cheering all for me, though, because the thing about these shows is they’re in such a frenzy they’re cheering every slight nuance of the show. But still, it was amazing to be a part of it. The only other story to tell is that there was one person who came up to the merch table while I was there and she was looking at the CDs and then said, “oh, I don’t want Paul. I don’t know Paul.” So I said, “Well, that’s okay, I’m not offended.” Then I got to watch the slow realization creep over her face before she asked if I was Paul. She just kept apologizing and looking away after that. I think I may have ruined a sale for the Indigo Girls.

Otherwise we all had people coming up to us after the show, even waving at the van as we drove away (while they were waiting outside at the IG tour bus, but still…). This is quite possibly the longest post I have ever made and I still really don’t feel like I can explain it.

It’s good. I have never been a part of anything like this.