Kathleen Edwards @ Bend Studio Dallas 1/5/08

 Kathleen, jamming on a yoga mat with a box of wine at her bare feet

Well, the day of much anticipation arrived and I counted down the minutes until I would get to see my favorite female artist live and in an intimate, acoustic setting.  As I have stated before, Edwards was to be gigging at a BYOB Yoga studio.  It sounded fine, as I have heard good things about it being a good place for acoustic shows, and very different from the typical, smoky, boozy bar scene that often times would absolutely murder a quieter, more subtle performance.  To make a long story short (not really), the concert was unreal and it proved to live beyond the hype that I had given it from a musical perspective, more on that later in the post.   After making my way in and finally sitting down, I realized that I was fitting very tightly (no fat jokes, I’m not that big) into what would be my home for the next 3 hours.  The studio understandably wants to accommodate as many as possible and I understand that there was a time where there were no chairs at all, so this is an improvement to say the least, but my knees were pressing into the chair in front of me as hard as the knees of the man behind me were pressing into the back of mine, all while I held my legs in place with my hands to keep from invading the personal leg/knee space of the people to my left and right.  OK, enough with the complaining, the fact is, I was much more uncomfortable the first time I witnessed a Kathleen live gig, when I endured driving, pelting rain to my back and neck on the front row at the ACL Fest in 2006.  Also, I sat next to a great couple who happen to be the parents of Ft. Worth/Austin based rocker Collin Herring (more on him later this week).  OK, now onto the show…

After the opening set by Bob Schneider guitarist Jeff Plankenhorn (who name dropped a whole bunch for an opening act, but hey, who am I to judge? I mean, he couldn’t introduce a song without naming a “big” Texas artist that either played on the track or loved it and that Kathleen, who has Tom Petty, John Mayer and EmmyLou Harris on speed dial never once mentioned any of her high-toned buds, but whatever)  Kathleen came up and opened with a new song, then her hubby/lead guitarist Colin Cripps came up and the hits started flowing.  “In-State,” “One More Song the Radio Wont Like” & “Hockey Skates” were old favorites from both studio albums that led into Kathleen showcasing some of the new material for the upcoming album, including her new single, “Cheapest Key.”  Her jovial, humble banter with the crowd was only topped by the playful jabs she took at Colin. Everyone was having fun, even Kathleen had to laugh at the crowd as much as with the crowd at times.  During “Hockey Skates,” a slow and somber tune of leaving someone behind, the guy who did a lot of closed mouth-burping next to me cracked opened  can of Natty Light during the final chorus. The sound of air escaping the freshly opened can echoed like a balloon deflating in the quiet studio atmosphere, warranting a shocked little chuckle from Edwards, who didn’t miss a beat.  Also, during the encore, Kathleen indirectly and inadvertently welcomed requests.  The guy behind me that kept saying “oooh, I love this song!” after every song began shouted, “‘Pink Emerson Radio!!.” That sent the crowd into laughter due to the fact that Kathleen had played that very ditty 15 minutes prior to this strangely out of place and ill-timed request.  While the crowd laughed, Kathleen shouted “Hello, I just played that!”, and then Colin rejoined her and they finished up with a cover of “When Will I Be Loved,” which sent everyone off with that warm-fuzzy feeling one gets after not just having fun at a show, but feeling like you got to know the artist in the process.  That warm-fuzzy-gettin’-acquainted feeling got stronger when I went to say hi to Kathleen and thank her for a great show.  As we shook hands, Kathleen gave me a surprised look of recognition as she asked “Are you Kelly?” To which, in my shock replied, “Holy crap. Yeah. Me Kelly“.  Kathleen went on to explain that she recognized me from my leaving a comment on her myspace page and that after checking my page out, she thought it was funny (her words not mine, but they would be my words if you asked me if my myspace page is funny or not), and even explained to me the various points of my hilarious, revolutionary myspace site that was indeed funny enough to make her remember a schlub like me.  Well, after that little chat and then me breaking out my phone to show her pics of my baby boy (she likes Cash for a name too), I then decided that it was time to go, quit while I still seemed normal, and not run the risk of her looking into what kinds of restraining orders might suit her needs best for future visits to the Lone Star State.

Great night, Great show, looking forward to the new album Asking for Flowers in March.  Maybe she’ll come back and play a venue that allows shoes to stay on ones feet. 

Kathleen Edwards Live @ Bend Studio (Sorry, I still am not the greatest camera guy)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wgoG3lvcas]