Hey all, I just wanted to tell you all about the awesome B.Reith concert I saw the other night. It was a pretty neat setting - he played at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville which a few of you might be familiar with. It's a pretty intimate little club, so everyone can see the singers every move which is neat, but also allows very little room for error.
B. however has this talent (which I admire) of being completely human on stage, but not making it awkward. It's strange for some people it works and they can come off as being quirky or funny while other people (like your truly) tend to have it come off as being clumsy or unprepared. For example there were a few times when he would get nervous playing his guitar in front of such a large group of people (he usually writes his music to his guitar, but has someone else play in concert) and he'd have to stop and shake off the nerves, make a quick joke and start again. Each time something like that happened he was able to tell a personal story about why it was happening that really allowed the audience to connect with him.
There were a few really neat parts of the show altogether - my favorite being whenever he would start a song off with the words "I haven't finished this song yet, so we'll see how it goes" which would ultimately lead to a hilarious freestyle that you were sure he had to have planned before hand. Only the details were so specific to what was going on right then and there that you knew he had to be making them up on the spot.
The best part by far though was the very end where they did an extended version of Rain Down (you can hear the original track on his myspace page). It was incredible. The sound both instrumentally and vocally was so crisp and intense, the lyrics touched my heart, everyone had their hands up in the air in praise. At the end of it I felt that release and inspiration that I used to feel after a really great church service. It's been a long time since I've had something have that effect on me. Oh and towards the end of the number the follow up act, Missi Hale, came on to lend some vocals as well and she was INCREDIBLE. Check her out when you get the chance. I am sad that you all weren't there because neither of those myspace tracks do any justice to the performance that was given on Tuesday. Just awesome.
~rachel@aristomedia
Posts
