Fast Forward

A Message from Carter

Dear readers:

I apologize for the inconvenience of our delay in posting. It is my displeasure to say we will not be reviewing the shows from the "upcoming" list at the bottom of our last blog posts. Instead, we will be fast forwarding through them and writing about shows within a few days of seeing them from here on out. However, I can give you a rundown for each of the shows from the last few months...

Spoon

The Forum - Harrisburg, PA

September 11, 2010

The Spoon show was horrible because of bad lighting. The lights were directly in line with our eyes because we had floor seats and the stage is sort of low. I couldn't see anything and so I fell asleep (but most shows that I've fallen asleep in I've loved). The sound was weird, too. It was a weird venue for a rock concert. We think we would have liked other stuff there. I have nothing against Spoon. But I have a lot against that show. No further comment.

Stupid lights at the Forum. It was much worse than it looks in this photo.

Hoots & Hellmouth

Mother Earth Harvest Festival at Spoutwood Farm - Glen Rock, PA

October 3, 2010

Very good concert. I like them because they have stomp boards made of wood with tambourines attached to them. Mama actually let me take photos, which is surprising. It was outside during the daytime. When Spoutwood has events, they have really good food. I had two cherry smoothies and two hemp soft pretzels. Overall, a really good show.

You can see the stomp boards. I took this photo!

Carter with Rob Berliner from Hoots & Hellmouth.

Jason & Grant from Ghost Hunters

Pullo Center - York, PA

October 15, 2010

It was the best show ever - and it counts as a show because they sang half of "Happy Birthday" to someone in the audience. They showed videos and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) and they took questions, but Mama was mean and wouldn't let me ask any. Through a series of very fortunate events, I got to meet them afterwards.

Carter with his heroes, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson from TAPS/Ghost Hunters.

The Felice Brothers

Capitol Theatre - York, PA

October 21, 2010

Second best show ever! Mama is the most amazing person ever because she won a silent auction and got me a washboard that the band has slammed on a cymbal multiple times (and when I say multiple, I mean like a hundred) onstage in their shows. After the show, their merch guy got everybody in the band to sign it. Then I was hanging out, talking to Greg Farley, their fiddle player, and he said I should sign his drum because he thought I was going to be famous one day for playing the trumpet.

Carter with Greg Farley from the Felice Brothers and the washboard.

Carter signing a drum they use as a stand for a synthesizer.

Rusted Root

Pullo Center - York, PA

November 4, 2010

Front row, baby! Our friends, Mark DeRose and the Way Home, opened for this show. They played some of their new songs and we were singing along already, because we heard them in a living room concert before that. I knew the words when nobody else did, so it felt pretty special. Rusted Root was amazing. I liked the lead singer, Michael Glabicki's voice very much, and I liked Liz Berlin's voice very much, too. When they came out for the encore, Michael walked right up to the front of the stage and handed me a guitar pick. When we were walking out, the two of them were singing a song with one acoustic guitar at the merch booth. So we stopped and listened and then got to meet them and he signed the pick.

Carter with Michael Glabicki and Liz Berlin.

Langhorne Slim

Capitol Theatre - York, PA

December 3, 2010

This was the first late-night CapLive show. The opener for this show was Ryan Lauder. He was very good. He was from Scotland and I liked his accent. Langhorne Slim was very good, too. I definitely heard a lot of his music before because Mama loves him. I think concerts are more fun sometimes if you have heard the music before.

Carter with Ryan Lauder. We gave him and Langhorne Slim their very own I Love York City sweatshirts!

Carter with Langhorne Slim himself.

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers

The Tin Angel - Philadelphia, PA

December 30, 2010

The Tin Angel is really small and there's a restaurant below the venue with really good food. We had dinner first and then went upstairs to see the concert. The opener was Javier Colon and Mama and our friend cried during one of his songs. The Sixers did not play my favorite song, but were very good. They did play "Big Easy" and "Start the Day Early," so I got to sing along to some of the show.

With Javier Colon, who opened for SK6ERS at this show.

Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt

Strand Theatre - York, PA

January 26, 2011

Mama was writing a story about this show for Tri State Indie, and since it snowed that night, our seats got upgraded to about the fourth row. I liked the show. It was just two guys with guitars, so it was very different from a lot of the shows we've been to lately. They took turns playing songs and made funny jokes and told stories in between. I know it was a good show because country isn't my style, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Visit the Concert Calendar page to see what shows we're going to next!

Hot August Blues - Oregon Ridge Park - Cockeysville, MD - August 21, 2010

We heard about Hot August Blues a few months ago, when a friend who’s obsessed with Jackie Greene and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears told us both were on the bill for the festival. At some point, Jackie Greene canceled, but by that time we’d had a chance to see the entire line-up, and we were pretty excited. This was the 18^th annual event, and Mama got to interview festival organizer Brad Selko earlier in the week for a story she wrote for Tri State Indie.

Oregon Ridge Park is an easy drive from York – it’s only two easy turns off I-83.

Mama: There was plenty of parking in a field adjacent to the festival. There was an area for food vendors, with an adjacent side stage, an area for non-food vendors, and a main stage at the bottom of a large hill that reminded me of a ski slope.

Carter: There was a corn-on-the-cob vendor. I didn’t try it because I was too stuffed.

Mama: I had an ear of corn with Old Bay on it for dinner. It was delicious. For lunch, I had a crepe stuffed with tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella. They had the traditional, junky festival food, but also some atypical options from local businesses.

Carter: I had a sausage sandwich and some fries. They had pizza, which was also delicious. At the end, I had an ice cream cone that they dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts when I ordered it.

Mama: It was really hot, even at night, and I didn’t want to deal with an ice cream cone, so I had a root beer float for dessert.

Carter: Now, for the actual show. The Bridge, from Baltimore, was playing when we got there, but I wasn’t really paying attention.

Mama: We caught the end of their set, but I think you were still looking around and getting acclimated to the whole vibe.

Carter: There were other good vendors that didn’t sell food. I got a cool wristband.

Mama: I liked that booth the best.

Carter: The guy was really, really nice.

Mama: He was, and his stuff was cool. He makes all the leather cuffs from repurposed belts and things.

Carter: There was a hula-hoop vendor there, too. I got to try out the hoops.

Mama: After we walked around for a little while, we headed back to the main stage to stake out a good spot for Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, since they were the act Carter was most excited to see. It was pretty easy to find a spot in front of the stage to spread out our blanket. Of course, once they started, we stood up and danced our butts off.

Carter: The day involved a lot of lemonade and water, just like at XPN Fest.

Mama: It was really, really hot. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting it to be that hot. I kept wishing we’d brought those cool packs that go around our necks that we got at XPN Fest. We used a lot of sunscreen and drank a lot of beverages.

Carter: Black Joe Lewis was awesome. They didn’t play “Get Yo Shit,” though. Mama started yelling “Get Yo Shit!” and so did most of the people around us, but they didn’t play an encore.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

Mama: After that we saw Keb' Mo', who might be in the top three coolest people on the entire planet.

Carter: #1 and #2 are Chuck Norris.

Mama: [sigh] ...Anyway, he is the Real Deal. His music just feels like the South. It's blues-y, and it's warm and welcoming and lonely and familiar all at the same time. I could have listened to him for hours.

Carter: After Keb' Mo', we saw some people playing hackey-sack.

Mama: I could see you eyeing up the circle, but you were being kinda shy about walking over and joining in.

Carter: So Mama and I went together. They were really nice and everyone was giving me pointers. Mama thought I was good.

Mama: I was surprised by how quickly you picked it up and how well you took everyone’s advice on moves to try. I think you’re a hackey-sack-hippie-hustler.

Carter: It runs in the family!

Mama: I was a little rusty, but I used to hack a lot, back in high school and college. It’s a great way to meet new people.

Carter: They were very, very nice.

Mama: I think all of them were involved in one way or another with the show. One was a guitar tech…not sure what everyone else’s role was, but they were on break and I had fun talking to them while we played.

Carter: Then it got dark and I got my ice cream cone, and we watched Lyle Lovett, and I was happy, and we left.

Mama: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band were really cool. The band was definitely worthy of its name. It was a 16-piece band and they took up the whole stage. They were all really good musicians, and it just felt so cool to hear Lyle Lovett in that big open space under the stars.

Carter: I thought it was a well-organized event. I’m excited to go back next year.

Check back soon for our reviews of these live shows: Lee Harvey Osmond at Ourhouse in York, Carolina Chocolate Drops at the Capitol Theatre, Rhett Miller at the Capitol Theatre, and Spoon at The Forum in Harrisburg, PA.