Welcome to our newest writer, Corey. Heres his take on last Thursday’s Jukebox The Ghost and friends show.
This weekend’s best dish
Last night I went down to the Ottobar for one of the best lineups I’ve seen in a while. Jukebox the Ghost headlining supported by Laura Burhenn of Georgie James, Gary B. and the Notions, and Honor by August. The night started out mellow with Honor By August opening up to a small crowd still filing in, which picked up and got their feet tapping for the catchy tunes of Gary B. and the Notions. The crowd then got to relax for a bit with the smooth sounds of Laura Burhenn and Tom Hnatow. By the end of their set there was a sense of calm before the storm with people ready to hear the great Jukebox the Ghost. Their performance was nothing short of amazing, packed full of energy and even including four new songs!
Read on to fully devour the show
The first course of this delightful show was Honor by August. While their sound didn’t quite fit with the rest of the bands who were on the lineup, their performance was good. The drum beats and lead vocals carried the songs, while good guitar solos really providing the hook for the audience. Ending their set on a mellow note allowed the next course to shine.
The second course was Gary B. and the notions. When they hit the stage there was a feeling of something hip going on. Their sound is youthful and energetic. Almost no one could sit still during their set due to the toe tapping beats and catchy lyrics. The crowd even sang along with several songs, such as Three Horse Carousel, despite many being first time listeners. Altogether Gary B. and the notions brought a spunky sound which will hopefully take them very far in the future.
mp3:Gary B. and the Notions – Lori
For the third course Laura Burhenn (of Georgie James) took the stage on the keys and vocals supported by Tom Hnatow (of These United States) on Steel Guitar. In this intimate set, Laura played several tracks off her solo album Wonderlust. The sound was smooth and whimsical. This set allowed many who have gotten to know Laura Burhenn as a part Georgie James to witness her musical depth and showcase her own style. Although Georgie James may be catchier and more pop inspired, Laura solo work allows her voice and emotion to come through. In-between Helicopters and Alphabet Soup, Laura got to share the happy news from Georgie James. They were part of “Project Song” on NPR and were nominated for an Emmy because of it! The full story can be found HERE. After the press conference part of the set, she invited Ben from Jukebox on stage to help her out while she played Chelsea Hotel no. 2 by Leonard Cohen. The song proved fairly hilarious due to Ben’s lack of knowledge of the song and the fact that he was playing a Melodica. This and the crowd pleasing performance of Long Week got the crowd ready for the main course.
mp3: Laura Burhenn – Helicopters
After three great opening bands, Jukebox The Ghost finally took the stage! They opened with crowd pleasers Good Day and Under My Skin. For the first time in a long time, Tom was unable to sing, due to laryngitis and a raspy voice. While lesser bands would have just played a shorter set, Jukebox is not a lesser band. Instead they played every song they could off of “Live and Let Ghosts” and filled the missing spots with four new songs…yes I said four! These were not rough cuts of songs they were still working out, or still trying to fill the sound, no they were extremely polished songs which fit well but definitely have a slightly different sound from “Live and Let Ghosts”. The titles of these songs are “Nobody”, “Empire”, “Mistletoe”, “Carrying a lot of weight”. In a humorous and crowd pleasing moment of the night Jukebox covered “It’s a beautiful life” by Ace of base. This had many people laughing during the song, but they pulled the song off extremely well and definitely put a smile on everyone’s face. Jukebox sounded extremely similar to what they do on their release, with a little extra live spice added into their songs. In yet another humorous point in the night, before leaving the stage jukebox convinced the crowd to shout “encore” once they left so they could come back on and play their last song. Doing the opposite of the title the crowd sang along with encore song “Hold it in” while the band had a little fun with the song by playing extra parts on the keys, and adding a little on the guitar. Their performance was nothing short of amazing, well worth it. If you haven’t picked up Live and Let Ghosts by now be sure to go to your local music store and pick it up…NOW
mp3:Jukebox The Ghost – Good Day
mp3: Jukebox The Ghost – Hold It In
0 Response to “This weekend’s best dish”