Sorry I’m so behind and irregular with the postings; I’m actually leaving again tomorrow, so it’ll be at least another 10 days before a new post, so here I am with a farewell update.
Two nights ago I went to see Brett Dennen open up for John Mayer at the PNC Bank Arts Center, which is one of the best outdoor venues in my neck of the woods. My friend and I got there just in time to catch his set, which was brilliant, and hear the debut of two new songs off of his new album which will be dropping in late October. If you haven’t listened to this guy before, start doing so now. He got a big boost last year when his single ‘Ain’t No Reason’ was released as the iTunes free download of the week, but I am still amazed that someone with his talent has gone so widely unrecognized. He writes like Dave Matthews or a young Bob Dylan – and given my level of obsession with said Bob Dylan, that is the highest compliment I can pay someone – and counts among his fans John Mayer himself. I think he is one to watch among the talented numbers of folk-rock today.
John Mayer’s set was also impressive – he won points with me, a true New Jersey girl, when he opened with the Springsteen classic “I’m On Fire” and the performance only went up from there. He also surprised me with his humor, telling the enthusiastic crowd that the best part of playing shows in the tristate area is that the television channels are where they’re supposed to be – “Channel 2 is your CBS affiliate, etc.” Sandwiched in between Brett Dennen and John Mayer, however, was Colbie Caillat. Though I was pleasantly suprised that her voice holds up in performance, I still find her songs laughably juvenile.
On to today – while waiting for a friend to run some errands, I rediscovered my copy of Killing Yourself to Live, by Chuck Klosterman. Aside from my all consuming obsession with the man – he makes my list of men old enough to be my father who I would like to date and/or marry and/or procreate with – the book is a genuinely funny and intelligent discovery of the correlation between rock’n'roll and death. Aside from the pop culture value it has, it is also a road story of Chuck’s various foibles and faults. I don’t know if there is anyone alive with a more interesting psychological profile, but what I do know is that he writes some of the few books that can make me laugh out loud.
-A
