This past weekend my wife (Sharon) and I embarked on a rock n' roll stay-cation to Clearwater, Florida. Clearwater exhales an old Florida urban vibe with a hiccup of religion, as the controversial Church of Scientology calls the historic Ft. Harrison hotel home.
For the last two years Sharon has been yodeling through our yard and harmonizing in our house to the rangeful vocal stylings of Seattle based indie rocker Brandi Carlile. Although I did not share the obsessive appreciation for Brandi that my spouse did, I was looking forward to a night out and a good show.
Brandi and her band were amazing! Not only is she a slice of pie to look at, but her voice is like nothing I've heard before...for me it was like Patsi Cline meets Shirley Field meets Johnny Cash. Brandi's vocals certainly stole the show but her longtime band mates Tim (guitar) and Phil (bass) Hanseroth, who just happen to be twin brothers, delivered a strong performance that stirred visions of mouth harps, trains, hobos, and Woody Guthrey.
The venue was supplied by the old Capital Theater, an art-deco joint on Cleavland street that was built in the 1920's. Wedged between palm trees and Scientology, the Capital was very intimate and provided enough acoustic value for the band to play the third song of the set entirely unplugged.
From beginning to end Brandi took a lot of time to explain the motivations and inspirations behind her soulful sounds. She shared quite a lot about her childhood including her Baptist upbringing and Grand Ole Opry musical roots. Although most of the night was filled with song's from the bands third album, "Give up the Ghost," they managed to do a nice take on Dylan, and ended the night with a rousing June Carter and Johnny Cash montage that included "Jackson" and "Folsom Prison Blues."
Throughout the concert I was surprised at how much I was enjoying the show, but with overpriced Corona's in the can, hippies, lesbians, a beautiful wife, and an internationally star studded cult just around the corner...how could life get any better??!! To quote Sharon in her college days, "good times, good times!"
Check her out: http://www.brandicarlile.com/
