On Saturday, we trekked over to La Grange in Deep Ellum for some awesome shaved ice and delicious music. Wait. Reverse that.
Anyway, we joined lalagray for her CD release party, and also got to enjoy the musical stylings of special guests Sam Anderson and David Ramirez. Without further ado, here’s how the night went:
Sam Anderson
See also: Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights lite. Moving on.
David Ramirez
Every now and then, you need some music that takes you on a ride down Heartbreak Road. David Ramirez knows that road, and he’s the man you want behind the wheel. His voice is achingly good, and his lyrics are mesmerizing. I love La Grange, but I almost wish I could hear David perform at a location without hooting, hollering and chattering.
Anyway, lovefest over.
Lalagray
Lalagray rocks. Yes, there’s a ton of hype around her CD, and, you know what? It’s well deserved. She’s Regina Spektor-like, but takes it to another level with a huge band, fantastic lyrics and a range that puts other similar female vocalists to shame.
At times, the band consisted of two violinists, a trumpet, drums, banjo, keyboard and 2 backup vocalist. The resulting sound was rich, varied and engaging – despite the two somewhat-creepers behind me talking about how they were “so fucking in love with lalagray,” and other even more ridiculous things.
In her (only) monologue, lalagray told us her story – a college dropout who had a serious love for music, whose father bought her a keyboard so she could follow that dream. 5 years later, she’s got a CD and a crowd of people who really really love her. Not too shabby.
Oh, and a word to La Grange. Your venue rocks, the sound and lighting is top notch, and we just have one question. Why the HECK would you leave tables all around the bar on the night of a major live show? We had to vault over people just to get to the bar.
