Things I can now cross off my bucket list: spending a Saturday night with the 40 and up crowd at Granada Theater, having my socks rocked (okay, country-ed) off by a 6-months pregnant Aussie badass.
Top that.
I really wasn’t sure what I was in for when I signed up to go to “Girls’ Night Out” at the Granada, but this definitely wasn’t it. First of all, the crowd was at least 60% guys – unless I’m mistaken about the meaning of “girls,” this seemed a bit… off. Plus, the Granada was set up with almost full seating, something my history of Miike Show and Yeasayer concert attendance definitely hasn’t prepared me for.
Forget the venue, though. We just like music, and music there was. The Kasey Chambers superfans in attendance were not disappointed as they grooved, yee-hawed and clapped their way through hits from each of her albums and cover songs that she definitely made her own. Don’t believe me? Check out this bluegrass version of Beat It:
The band is fronted by Kasey Chambers, but made infinitely more epic by the backup vocals and instrumentation provided by her dad (yes! Her dad. It’s a family affair.), Ashleigh Dallas and, as an homage to a music reviewer much more original than I, a guy that looked like Faramir from Lord of the Rings.
The show was a mix between a taping of A Prairie Home Companion and a jam session by a fire pit. Kasey Chambers is engaging, endearing and oh so incredibly talented. Her renditions of “The Captain,” which she wrote when she was 17, and “Not Pretty Enough” were heartfelt and haunting. Her newer songs, like “Beautiful Mess,” are a bit more upbeat, but still stunning when brought to life by her incredible voice.
(Seriously. Writing this post makes me miss being snarky. If you need a break from the love fest, please click here.)
The biggest find of the night, for me, was the vocal power provided by Kasey’s fellow performer, Ashleigh Dallas, who was apparently “counting down the sleeps” until she got to visit her namesake city. Ashleigh is just 18 years old, but her lyrics and musical talents far surpass most musicians I’ve seen. New to the tour, she brought amazing harmonies and some great original songs to the set, and brought down the house when she teared up during the band’s encore.
When you go to a ton of shows, you see the good, the bad and the boring. Seldom do you see a show that’s this… fun. Just ask the guy who’s dancing MST 2000 below. He had an AWESOME time:
