Brandon Benson and The Posies's Thanksgiving Lessons

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.

Here We Go Magic & The Beach Fossils Live Video Review

When we arrived, The Beach Fossils were only a few feet away relaxing and talking to the crowd . They took that same relaxed attitude straight to the stage. Seeing them preform reminded me of days when I was a teenager, sitting in my friend's unairconditioned garage, watching his band jam out.

Half the band shoeless on stage. The percussion was generated from a single floor drum and snare. The sound was nice but after a few songs I was left wondering if the drummer knew a different beat. I also kept thinking; was the echo on the mic to mask the lead man's singing or do they really mean to sound like that. I was actually interested enough go home and google the band. I soon found out that the studio work wasn't much different.

Here We Go Magic were definitely more entertaining and had a few really good moments. On the self titled EP, they have a folksy inspired blues sound going on. At the Earl, they ended up sounding distorted and incredibly loud. Most of the blame goes to the sound guy who blasted each instrument so loud it was difficult to figure out what was going on. At times the organ keyboard sounded so much like feedback it made me cringe.

But through all that, they played their hearts out. The amount of skill they showed did not go unnoticed by me. The speed and complexity at which they played was really fun to watch. The several epic builds left me smiling ridiculously in the front row. I am very glad I recorded the show. My camera acted like a translator. Watching the set back through the filtered ears of my camera makes me appreciate they did on Friday night even more.