The Posies and Brandon Benson was the last concert I went to before heading home to see the family. It was the last place I ever thought I would learn a Thanksgiving Lesson. After the third song the Posies played, their lead singer stopped the set. "I want to point something out to all of you..."
Brandon Benson
At this point my heart stopped in mid-beat. The entire first part of the set, he kept looking my direction. I always wondered what musicians think of people like me filming them on stage. I started thinking to myself, "Brent, you are finally going to find out..."
The Posies
He continued, "You all may of not noticed but this lady in the front row [directly in front of me] has been singing every single word of both Brandon's set and ours. I just wanted to let you know that is amazing and the reason that we keep playing music for people like her." He continued to interview her from the stage and continued to thank her for being a fan and coming out.
There were probably less than 100 people in the entire place but that one person made an impression on The Posies. After a career that spanned all the way back to the 80s, I felt that in just those few moments I was experiencing something special and reflective for the band. They could of sold out the Phillips Arena but I truly felt that Bebe in the front row singing her heart out to every song would mean more. Walking out of the Posies I was reminded to be thankful for anyone and everyone who supported me along the way. The Holiday Season is the perfect time to let them know.
First off, I want to give a big thanks to Tammy and Jorge for filming this concert for me. I had bought tickets months earlier and waited patiently to see two of my favorite bands... then my job sent me out of town the day of the concert. Without you two I would of missed the entire thing. Without Jorge there wouldn't be a post, so thank you for your great words...
By Jorge -
Sometimes you go to a show for a particular band and surprisingly fall in love with another. Sunday at Masquerade was one of those shows. A good sized crowd had gathered for a great evening of Scottish rock and there couldn’t have been a better night for music. I bought my ticket for the sole purpose of seeing We Were Promised Jetpacks who began the night with a bang. Lead singer Adam Thompson belted out all the lyrics that I knew so well and proved that this band deserved way more credit than the crowd gave. It seems that the majority of the people were there to see Frightened Rabbit as many were not as into them as I was; I couldn’t stop bouncing around during their whole set. I hope that more people will start listening to them now that they have seen what they can do. They played all the songs I wanted to hear and somehow impressed me even more than their album which is on regular rotation in my car stereo. I’m not even that into rock, (I prefer electronic music) but I can’t get enough of this band.
With that said, my new favorite band is Frighten Rabbit. Before the show, all I heard of them was a few songs off Liver! Lung! FR! and to be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. This may be due to the fact that I might have not been in the mood on that day and that it is a live album. As previously stated, I prefer electronic music and I kinda have to be in the mood for rock to enjoy it. Regardless, I obviously didn’t give this band enough credit. The crowd was ripe with anticipation when they came out and Frighten Rabbit was ready to deliver. They played with so much passion and it seemed like everyone knew every word to all their songs that I kinda felt left out that I didn’t. Every song was better than the last and by the time they left the stage I totally enamored. When Scott Hutchinson came back to the stage by himself to sing an acoustic version of Poke with just his guitar and his great Scottish accent I was totally sold and completely bummed that I didn’t bring enough cash to buy all their albums right then and there. What I did buy was their awesome t-shirt that I will proudly wear to the next show I attend.
I have to at least mention Twilight Sad as they were the third band that played between WWPJP and FR, but as the saying goes -if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all- so I won’t.
I personally feel that rock died in the late 90’s and I haven’t listened to the radio in the last 10 years. This is confirmed every time I do turn the radio on and all I hear is the same songs I remember listening to back when I was in high school. This night and these bands have taught me that rock music may not have died after all; it just packed up and moved to Scotland. I don’t blame it, how can anyone not love a Scottish accent?
