Isaac Russell played first. In the place of his sesiter Becca who was supposed to play but became indisposed with work, and sent her brother to represent the family.. Lyrics about hardships, love in many senses, society etc. make me wonder how a 16 year old heart has had love, room, pain, and overall experience, enough to write what he writes. He's a gifted musician, I've known that since I heard him playing a guitar in a local guitar shop a while before I actually met him. And now alongside that fact, I've discovered that he's quite a gifted poet as well. All in all, I'm glad I got to share the stage with him, and I'm also glad I can call him friend.
Next was my close friend and roommate Jeff Stone. He played a set of songs about real life situations dealing with love and loss. Nobody does love songs like Jeff stone. Thoughts he conveyed were done so from a heart that has truly felt both love and loss, and has been both whole and broken, and you could feel it with every word and every note. It was a pleasure to have him as a part of the evening.
Then there was me. In all honesty, I just felt blessed to be in the company of such great musicians, and just great people. I think my set went pretty well, I was a little nervous because of the calabur of those I was playing with, but at the same time, knowing I was in such great company gave me some sort of a boost and I think I had one of my best performances to date.
Right after my set, Chance, of the pop punk band Abby Normal played a song for us. It was a fun anti-love song, played with those in mind who were without a treasured one to share the holiday. Ya know, people like me. it was fun to have him add that to the show.
Colby Stead, was the headlining act, and rightly so. He made the evening magical. He was accompanied by his own guitar, and by the beautiful and diversely talented Amy Robinson (who brought bananna bread for all) on the accordion. Colby has a way of making each member of the audience feel as though they're the only one there, and that he is playing and speaking directly to them. Tonight was no exception. I had only once ever heard Colby play a love song, and it was a very special thing. Last night he played several songs about love in it's various forms. I was blown away by the insightful nature of each song. Which to be honest I should have expected as much from Colby. He was the highlight of the evening for me personally. He gave Jeff and I each a pair of colbystead.com Panties, knowing that we would appreciate the humor in it. (Jeff and I have juvenile senses of humor, and now we know that it's blatantly obvious.) They say "No" on the crotch, which is not just an insightful instruction, it's also the title of Colby's latest album
The evening closed with a performance by Joshua James, a local boy who's seen a lot of success lately. He's toured with the likes of John Mayer, and David Grey. He played one of the two love songs he's written. It was written from the perspective of a man who's died and is seeing his wife with her new husband. It was beautiful, and I believe it's the only time he's played it in public. I was glad to have both Joshua and Chance to add their soul to the evening.
I hope that more of my friends will start taking advantage of the shows here. I don't think people realize the quality, and beauty of what they're missing. Special thanks to Ryan, Al, and Erin, for coming out. You made my night.
