box full of [lyrics]

words cannot express how much i love wilco.

or maybe they can......

the other night some friends and i enjoyed a hot summer evening concert in kansas city enjoying wilco.  as i stood listening, being filled with the memories their songs always stir, i discovered almost every song had a lyric or phrase i would sing along to. words put together so beautifully they stick out as a beacon in a sea of beautiful lyrics and waves of wonderful melodies.

instead of a set list, i've put together a lyric list; one phrase from each song played that night. although it's just a few words from longer lyrics, they begin to show the emotion jeff tweedy and wilco fill their songs with and the reason i enjoy them so much.

-the hope i had in a notebook full of white, dry pages, was all i tried to save                

-i looked like someone i used to know and if i ever was myself, i wasn't that night

-i need a camera to my eye, reminding which lies i have been hiding

-i curl my lips and crawl up to you

-i have all the love i could ever ache and i leave almost with you, art of almost almost... almost...

-i'd always thought that if i held you tightly you'd always love me like you did back then

-you were a blessing and i was a curse i did my best not to make things worse for you

-did i catch you in the flashes?

-remember to remember me standing still in your past floating fast like a hummingbird

-the footprints of the lovers that come here to love, by the tides washed away forever more (cover)

-unlock my body and move myself to dance

-all i can see is black and white and white and pink with blades of blue that lay between the words i think on a page i was meaning to send her

-music is my savior, and i was maimed by rock and roll.

-you were right about the stars, each one is a setting sun

-sadness is my luxury

-but this is what love is for, to be out of place, gorgeous and alone, face to face

-all my daydreams are disasters, she's the one i think i love (cover)

-don't forget the flowers someday, i know i will

-so i'd give this world just to dream, a dream with you on our bed of california stars (cover)

-i can't find the time to write my mind the way i want it to read

-i've been young, i've been old, i've been hurt and consoled heart of coal heart of gold so i'm told

-what you once were isn't what you want to be any more

-true love will find you in the end this is a promise with a catch only if you're looking can it find you 'cause true love is searching too but how can it recognize you unless you step out into the light? (cover)

-you have to learn how to die if you want to want to be alive,

-for your sparkling cocky smile i've walked a million miles begging you to come and wed me in the spring (cover)

 -give back my tv, it don't mean that much to me, while you're giving back my things, give me back the key to my heart (cover)

-there's something there that you can't find honest when you're tellin' a lie. you hurt her but you don't know why. you love her but you don't know why

nearly midnight [lawrence]

there are only a few artists i'd travel two and a half hours to see on a random tuesday night; neko case is one of them.  not only because i've enjoyed her music for several years, but hearing her perform live is nothing short of magical.  in an era of auto tuning and twerking, it really is amazing to watch a live performance from someone with honest talent.

neko was on tour promoting her new album, which holds tracks already climbing up the list of my favorites. although we didn't share the eye-locking moment we did back in 2007 it was still an amazing show, and i'm thankful cameras take significantly better photos than they did six years ago.  if you've never heard of her, please check her out.  i'm partial to the song "hold on, hold on", but if you stumble upon her new album first, check out "night still comes," "local girl," or "ragtime," a few of my favorites from the new album.

austin city limits [festival]

and now for some highlights from the actual festival:

- great shows on friday from first aid kit, tegan and sara, florence and the machine and the black keys
- banh mi's from the food court
- water filling stations and cooling fans
- purchasing an official acl koozie, fueling my new obsession for these objects
- being in an instagram rich environment
- chicken cones from the food court
- being well prepared for the rain on saturday
- purchasing a water proof blanket
- finding waldo
- random conversations with complete, but friendly, strangers
- jack white performing "seven nation army" on saturday night
- an amazing performance from the civil wars on sunday
- watching the avett brothers put on one of the best shows i've seen at acl
- chad smith from the red hot chili peppers playing drums for the avett brothers for a few songs
- reliving most of my childhood by rocking out to the the red hot chili peppers as they closed the festival
- hanging out with friends

 

 

[first aid kit] for unexpected situations

music is a wonderful thing.  it brings people together; it connects them.  the divisions we sometimes find between each other can be reduced to nothing with just a few beautifully played notes.

the other week, my friends and i went to see "first aid kit".  if you've never listened to this band, do yourself a huge favor and you tube, google, or spotify them then sit back and enjoy.  the band is comprised of two swedish sister's whose harmonies are absolutely angelic.  if this isn't enough to entice you, their latest album was influenced heavily by american folk music paying homage to emmlyou harries, june carter, and johnny cash, with hints of simon and garfunkel throughout the album.

not only did the beautiful sounds of "first aid kit" fill the walls of the granada turning a random tuesday night into a memorable one, their music also accomplished that wonderful thing music can do; it connects people, or in the case of this particular night, reconnect people.

a [folk] band of brothers

you have to love a band whose opening song starts with the lyrics:

"salina, i'm as nowhere as i can be, 
could you add some somewhere to me,
ah kansas i'm kneeling, ah kansas please."

the avett brothers put on an amazing show sunday night. i've never seen a crowd more energized or excited to see a band.  a big "thank you" goes out to the oprheum theater for bringing them to wichita.