Who: Chris Trapper with Nick Young
When: May 12, 2012
Where: Ninth Ward/ Buffalo, NY
With: Barb & Hillary
Of Note: Barb's Birthday!
If 2003 was the year we all turned 21, 2012 is the year that we're all turning 30. Some of us are handling that particular milestone better than others. (Spoiler alert: I had to take myself to a different continent to be able to deal with it.) Anyway, Barb's birthday week-end coincided with a Chris Trapper concert in Buffalo, so we decided on a ladies night out and off the three of us went.
The opener was a Nick Young, an acoustic singer/song-writer guy. He was adorable, and his set was very solid. Lyrically, I was really impressed - sometimes it's hard to really listen to words when you're hearing songs for the first time live (just me?), but I was drawn into the story-telling for sure. I'm going to mangle lyric quotes here, but one referenced, "missing the 4am whiskey on your breath," which resonated more than it probably should have. The song about "a trucker stealing your girl" was striking. The "sweetheart" song was so, so sweet (pun not intended). It was a good mix of emotion and music.
He also told a great story about how thankful he was to be playing with Chris, because he started out playing crappy basements. Ninth Ward is in a basement, which several members of the audience helpfully pointed out. His response? "Oh shit." I do like my rock stars with a bit of snark.
Then came Chris Trapper. As we've established, Hillary is a super fan, and it's always fun to see a show with a super fan. He opened with 'Summertime' and went into 'Few and Far Between', which is by far my favorite song of his. I joked that we could leave after that. I loved the anecdote about trying to make the end of 'Keg on My Coffin' sound like a flatlining heart monitor.
He also told a bunch of great stories, about dreams of being on "The Bachelor" (actual sleep dreams, not aspirations) and how it was an ego beating when there were girls at his show that said, "My mom loves you!" He also did a great bit about the constant repetition of Buffalo area radio commercials. The whole crowd joined in with, "Hurt in a car? Call William Mattar! 444-4444," which was hilarious.
The first time I saw Chris, I was unfamiliar with his work and got a little...distracted? by the novelty songs so I missed how beautiful the serious ones are. 'This Time' was so beautiful and I got a bit choked up. Later in the set, 'Skin' made me realize that I'm ready to be in love again. 'The More I Think' reiterated that music can really bring to light what's frustrating about life. Somewhere between last fall and now, I became able to sing along with a fair bit of his catalog; it felt like an initiation into a club. It's also important to note how the smallest inflections of guitar strings or voice create a sense of vulnerability/exposure in these more serious songs. It actually feels like you're feeling his feelings, which is pretty powerful, especially in a small venue.
Towards the end of the set, he busted out the 'Birthday Song', dedicated to a few people, including our very own Barb! She was vaguely embarrassed; Hillary and I serenaded her as a sing along. It was super fun. Chris closed with 'Avalanche' which caused Hillary to gasp...that's just how excited she was.
During the break between the performers, I took to social media (as I do) and threw out a tweet about how much I had enjoyed Nick's set. After the show, I bought his CD (From him, which is always a bit of a disconnect? Aren't you famous? Don't you have people for this? You were just on a stage? But, it's so nice to meet you!) and he couldn't have been nicer. Except, I introduced myself and he said, "Oh, you just tweeted me!" BUSTED. (He was super nice about it, it's just...you forget that the internet is a real thing, you know?)
We said hello to Chris; he wished Barb a happy birthday and gave Hillary a hug, and then it was on to a full week-end of birthday shenanigans for Barb. All in all, a super fun night.
When: May 12, 2012
Where: Ninth Ward/ Buffalo, NY
With: Barb & Hillary
Of Note: Barb's Birthday!
If 2003 was the year we all turned 21, 2012 is the year that we're all turning 30. Some of us are handling that particular milestone better than others. (Spoiler alert: I had to take myself to a different continent to be able to deal with it.) Anyway, Barb's birthday week-end coincided with a Chris Trapper concert in Buffalo, so we decided on a ladies night out and off the three of us went.
The opener was a Nick Young, an acoustic singer/song-writer guy. He was adorable, and his set was very solid. Lyrically, I was really impressed - sometimes it's hard to really listen to words when you're hearing songs for the first time live (just me?), but I was drawn into the story-telling for sure. I'm going to mangle lyric quotes here, but one referenced, "missing the 4am whiskey on your breath," which resonated more than it probably should have. The song about "a trucker stealing your girl" was striking. The "sweetheart" song was so, so sweet (pun not intended). It was a good mix of emotion and music.
He also told a great story about how thankful he was to be playing with Chris, because he started out playing crappy basements. Ninth Ward is in a basement, which several members of the audience helpfully pointed out. His response? "Oh shit." I do like my rock stars with a bit of snark.
Then came Chris Trapper. As we've established, Hillary is a super fan, and it's always fun to see a show with a super fan. He opened with 'Summertime' and went into 'Few and Far Between', which is by far my favorite song of his. I joked that we could leave after that. I loved the anecdote about trying to make the end of 'Keg on My Coffin' sound like a flatlining heart monitor.
He also told a bunch of great stories, about dreams of being on "The Bachelor" (actual sleep dreams, not aspirations) and how it was an ego beating when there were girls at his show that said, "My mom loves you!" He also did a great bit about the constant repetition of Buffalo area radio commercials. The whole crowd joined in with, "Hurt in a car? Call William Mattar! 444-4444," which was hilarious.
The first time I saw Chris, I was unfamiliar with his work and got a little...distracted? by the novelty songs so I missed how beautiful the serious ones are. 'This Time' was so beautiful and I got a bit choked up. Later in the set, 'Skin' made me realize that I'm ready to be in love again. 'The More I Think' reiterated that music can really bring to light what's frustrating about life. Somewhere between last fall and now, I became able to sing along with a fair bit of his catalog; it felt like an initiation into a club. It's also important to note how the smallest inflections of guitar strings or voice create a sense of vulnerability/exposure in these more serious songs. It actually feels like you're feeling his feelings, which is pretty powerful, especially in a small venue.
Towards the end of the set, he busted out the 'Birthday Song', dedicated to a few people, including our very own Barb! She was vaguely embarrassed; Hillary and I serenaded her as a sing along. It was super fun. Chris closed with 'Avalanche' which caused Hillary to gasp...that's just how excited she was.
During the break between the performers, I took to social media (as I do) and threw out a tweet about how much I had enjoyed Nick's set. After the show, I bought his CD (From him, which is always a bit of a disconnect? Aren't you famous? Don't you have people for this? You were just on a stage? But, it's so nice to meet you!) and he couldn't have been nicer. Except, I introduced myself and he said, "Oh, you just tweeted me!" BUSTED. (He was super nice about it, it's just...you forget that the internet is a real thing, you know?)
We said hello to Chris; he wished Barb a happy birthday and gave Hillary a hug, and then it was on to a full week-end of birthday shenanigans for Barb. All in all, a super fun night.
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