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joementa · 7 years

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Week of February 27, 2017. Will I Go See DRA By Myself? Heck Yes.

Ever since DRA (Ryan Adams) announced his tour to support his ridiculously good album Prisoner, I felt it was pretty odd that Philly wasn’t on there. I had heavy speculation that it would eventually get added to a later date, possibly something like the XPN Fest. I was close to being right. On Thursday night, a really great friend of mine texted me that DRA was in Philly. Obviously my question was, “Why?” She then dropped a million-pound bomb on me – HE WAS PLAYING A SHOW IN PHILLY THE NEXT NIGHT. What. The. Heck. I didn’t know about that show!

I did some research online and found out that the show was in honor of David Dye’s 25th anniversary as host of XPN’s World Café program, and face value for the ticket was $100. I instantly went to the ticketing site and my heart sank when I saw it was sold out. Do you think I accepted the fact that I wouldn’t be going? Of course not. There was no way I WASN’T going to attend this show. I quickly went to StubHub and found a ticket on sale for $138 – not too bad considering the face value.

I did not spend any time whatsoever thinking about whether or not I’d be buying this ticket, or whether or not I could find someone else to go with me. Of course I was going to buy it. If someone could come with me, great. But if not, oh well. I had to go. Up until I received that text from my friend, I had a pretty average non-summer Friday night scheduled. Then all of a sudden my life changed in the blink of an eye. DRA….at World Café Life….Heck yes.

On Friday, I got to the venue around 5PM. There literally was no one else there. Less than twenty four hours earlier I had no clue I was even going to be here, and now I was first in line to see DRA? I felt like how Henry Rollins described his feelings when he first met Ozzy. Totally fan-boy geek out. While waiting in line, I met a pretty cool couple that are just really big music fans. That’s one of the best experiences about going to shows. You get to meet people who just love music – and maybe the musician they’re seeing that night is no necessarily their most favorite, but when they talk about whoever it is, their eyes light up and you can tell they are really inspired. You can’t beat being around those kinds of people, no matter who their favorite musician is.

The two openers were Ben Vaughn and Sylvan Esso. Ben Vaughn rocked the place – classic rock ‘n roll, complete with Telecaster twang, sax solos, smokin’ guitar riffs, and catchy choruses. I enjoyed it a lot, and will definitely be picking up some of his albums. I had never heard of Sylvan Esso before and was completely unfamiliar with their music. That’s going to change, because I loved it. At first I was a little skeptical because the band consists of a singer and a producer/DJ who electronically creates all of the music. They really grew on me throughout the set – It was cool to see them create the beats/rhythms in real time, and they were having a great time too. David Dye personally picked them for the show (third, behind BRUCE and DRA). Their entire catalog is onsale on their site, and it’s not a bad deal – their debut LP, upcoming second LP, plus three 12-inches for $60. You can pre-order it RIGHT HERE.

After the openers, it was time for the main event. DRA. At a 650-capactiy venue. With me in the front row. Heck yes. They opened with “Do You Still Love Me” – and it ROCKED. That place was so loud. I wear earplugs at every show I go to, including acoustic shows, and my ears were still ringing by Saturday night. DRA was especially emotional during this song, and his voice was flawless. I expect nothing less from this guy. They mostly played songs from Prisoner, plus a couple of other songs. They really jammed out on a couple of songs too – DRA crushed some guitar solos, especially on “Peaceful Valley”. They closed with one of my favorites from the new album, “We Disappear.” “Lucy My Gal” was a pleasant surprise, and I’m nearly certain this wasn’t on the original setlist. The show was a little longer than an hour, and I heard some people complaining about that afterwards. Personally I couldn’t ask for anything more from that show. A day before, I didn’t even know this show was. DRA is a pretty popular musician, and we all scored tickets to see him at a venue that is easily too small for him. Considering that none of my other favorite musicians had shows scheduled for that night, there really wasn’t much more music-related that could have beaten a DRA show. At World Café Live. IN THE FRONT ROW. Heck yes.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a huge Ryan Adams fan and I think Prisoner is one of my best albums. Like a typical DRA album, there are a lot of emotions and it’s a very personal album. But the music is fantastic and not like anything else he’s done before. The vibe is a little similar to his last two albums (Ryan Adams and 1989), but the instrumentation on Prisoner is certainly at another level. I’ve listened to this album so many times since it came out, and I’m still not sick of yet. I’m sure you have musicians that you totally geek out over. It’s one of the most exciting things to see. We have music that we love so much that we feel joy just knowing that it exists. Heck yes.

Here is a list of some of the music I’ve been listening to the past week. Format: musician – album title, or musician – “song title” (album title).

Ryan Adams – Prisoner

Dave Hause – Bury Me In Philly

The Menzingers – After The Party

Lana Del Rey – “Love”

Natalie Hemby – Puxico

Ed Sheeran – Divide

Tift Merritt – Stitch Of the World

The Pretenders – Pretenders II

The Pretenders – Extended Play

The Pretenders – “Day After Day” b/w “In The Sticks”

Dave Hause – Home Alone EP

Dave Hause – Resolutions

Dave Hause – Devour

The Loved Ones – Build & Burn

The Loved Ones – Keep Your Heart

Conor Oberst – Ruminations

The Cure – The Head On The Door

The Afghan Whigs – Black Love

Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks: Original Score

Andrea Bocelli – Romanza

Norah Jones – The Fall

Reasons you’ll want to have your Ticketmaster account up-to-date:

The Menzingers put out a new album in February called After The Party. Like most bands, they are going on tour this year to support the album. Unlike most bands, they made a song called “Lookers” that I don’t think many bands can make. They’re a really fun band to see, and a lot of their shows are selling out. So make sure you buy your ticket now.

The Goo Goo Dolls, one of my favorite summer bands, just announced a summer tour, and tickets are on sale right now.

Foo Fighters are playing a handful of shows across the pond later this summer. These are their first shows in over a year, so although there aren’t any American shows (yet), it’s good to see tour dates pop up. One of the best rock bands you could see.

John Mayer has added a summer tour to his already-lengthy list of shows coming up

Banks is going on a tour in early June, in support of her fantastic album The Altar

Reasons you’ll want to go to your local record store in May:

New album from John Moreland, Big Bad Luv, is out on May 7

New album from Justin Townes Earle, Kids In The Street, is out May 26

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