A Controlled Experiment

Two weeks ago I came upon the pleasant fortune of having tickets to both the Philadelphia and New York City shows of Blue October's Approaching Normal tour. Aside from a great time with my wife and sisters listening to fantastic music from an awesome band putting on a magnificent show not once but twice, I also noticed a unique opportunity to see what differences a change in venue can make.

The show on Wednesday night was by no means a disappointment, however the show on Friday night was 10 times more enjoyable. I literally had my face rocked off. That's right. I picked up my bloody flesh from the floor. It was that awesome. 

Ok ok, figuratively rocked off.

Between both nights there existed several similarities. One: I was there! Two: Rachel was there. Three: Same exact set list (played the CD and followed with a bunch of Foiled music and a scant few older ones). Four: I consumed some tasty beverages. Five: I ended up about the same distance from the stage (about 4 heads away).

There were two major differences. One: Webster Hall in NYC v. TLA in Philly. Two: Friday night versus Wednesday night. 

Results on Friday:

Band, particularly lead singer, much more animated and into it.

Crowd much more animated and into it.

I had much more fun.

Some blond bee-otch didn't yell at me for "cutting" (it's the pit for christsake, stop pulling on my shirt)

A big ogre did not stiffarm a 13 year old trying to see past him.

A kind gentlemen named "Jimmy" offered us the chance to move closer. 

Conclusions:

I like to think the energy of New York City plus Friday night served as the major causes to the increased energy and pleasantnesss of the show. Hopefully we can attribute Hump Day anxiety to why the City of Brotherly Loved seemed quite the misnomer. 

My quasi-analytical analysis aside, BO certainly put on a fantastic show. Justin (lead singer) must have literally lost the 40 lbs he mentions in Say It. He was significantly more animated on stage and it sure as shoot got the crowd going. The new songs are a lot of fun, although I'm not sure I'm a fan of a band just playing an entire CD verbatim to start their show. 

If there's a word for my Blue October experience as of late it would be Cathartic. I think everyone has that band that seems to help them sort out life. They write the songs at just the right time to help you see what you're going through with the correct perspective. 

If you haven't found that band yet, I encourage you to keep searching because you never know where you might find it. For Jackie and I, it happened when a song called Hate Me showed up on almost every single radio station almost every single time we hopped in our Honeymoon convertible. Not exactly the song you'd expect, but as life unfolded the following two years and we unfolded the discography of Blue October, the fit felt snug and right. Now their latest CD speaks of new life, blue skies, and hope. 

How fitting =)

Listen Up

Blue October could possibly be my favorite band, but traditionally they're far from the most uplifting group. Well, I've found them to be a great way to get through rough spots, but we'll save that psychoanalysis for another post.

Steve Lillywhite partnered with Dave Matthews Band at one point to create The Lillywhite Sessions. That album was not initially released because, from what I heard, it was too depressing. 

So when I heard Steve Lillywhite partnered with Blue October for the latest album "Approaching Normal," I expected the CD to come with a free gift card for razor blades, sleeping pills, rope, a belt, reruns of The View, or whatever escape plan enabler works best for the listener. 

After spending two weeks with the CD I could not have been more wrong or more elated by their most recent addition to the Blue October discography. The album certainly has a different and far more up beat sound. If you haven't been a fan in the past, I recommend checking out, "Jump Rope" "Blue Skies" "Been Down" and "Should be Loved". I love the whole frakkin CD, but for someone easing their way into BO, start there.

Stay tuned for more sporadic announcements and vague allusions to song titles in future posts. Oh, and concert on the 1st of May at Webstar Hall in NYC should rock. Correction: Will rock.