Present Joys

“We thank the Lord of heaven and earth
who hath preserved us from our birth
for present joys, for blessings past,
and for the hope of heaven at last.”

Tag a&r music bar

2 posts between November 2013 and February 2014

Monday night (3 feb 2014), I saw the Hold Steady play a show at A&R Music Bar. It was a very wild, loud, energetic show—just exactly what I expected. Craig Finn went guitar-less most of the evening (“I made a new year’s resolution to stop fake-playing-guitar so much”) and repeatedly attempted to imitate Paul Stanley’s stage banter. There were many good songs. I was particularly happy to hear Rock Problems and Stuck Between Stations. Besides the great music, I had a chance to meet up with Blair, the dude who ridiculed me online a few years ago and since then has become a good internet friend, as well as a bunch of other random Columbus music-scene folks. Tons of fun.

Last night (1 nov 2013) at the A&R Music Bar, I saw John Vanderslice play a great show. Right now he’s just touring with Jason Slota, who plays drums and Moog, often simultaneously. The show consisted of a few songs from Dagger Beach and Pixel Revolt, lots of songs from Emerald City, a few Bowie covers, and lots of other good stuff mixed in. The best parts: “Kookaburra”, where JV switched from acoustic to electric guitar halfway through in order to play a rockin’ solo; also “Underneath the Leaves”, a personal favorite, complete with pedal-fired synth sample!