Scott Hutchinson of Frightened Rabbit was the opening act, playing solo on an acoustic guitar. He provided the "bitter motherfucker" part of the show, he told us. In reality he was funny, engaging, and sexily Scottish, stopping songs when we laughed at a lyric to poke fun at the young, pretentious songwriter he was once. And while his songs are generally more of the "trampled, squished up heart" variety he also dedicated the cover song he performed to his long-term girlfriend and serenaded the audience with "Old Old Fashioned", one of my favorite songs which is both romantic and a foot-stomper. Not only are both Frightened Rabbit and Josh Ritter probably the only artists that I buy entire CDs of instead of individual songs, they have a great juxtaposition in the content of their music. Mr. Hutchinson's songs tend towards the emotive and autobiographical, so a lot of his work is about heartbreak and sadness, and they're very good songs. Josh Ritter tends towards weaving a story about American folk legends, or symmetry in nature, basically anything curious and interesting that he sees in the world. And they're very good songs. And I loved hearing them both, at once, by their artists. So after Scott was done warming us up and teaching us Scottish slang for having sex ("having a wee winch"), it was time for the man himself. He started off on stage solo, and for the life of me I cannot remember which song he opened with. I know it was excellent and everyone was immediately so excited and captivated to hear him sing. After that the Royal City Band joined him on stage and we were off. The songs were a good mix of old and new material, some of which I was less familiar with, like "Harrisburg" and "Lillian, Egypt". Some songs gained a new quality when performed live, especially "Rumors". Hearing Josh swagger about how his "orchestra is gigantic" is that much more fun when you're getting blasted by saxes, trumpets, and drums. "Right Moves" and "Real Long Distance Call" were similarly rowdy and exciting. Probably my favorite song of the night was "The Curse" which on its own is a lovely song about a mummy and his archaeologist love. But live, it was practically a transcendental experience. Mr. Ritter had complete sway over the crowd, weaving this delicate, lovely story in front of us. "Southern Pacifica" was another song that seeped through the audience. ( I should also mention the Royal City Band, who were incredible and got many accolades from both the audience and the singers.) Josh took the stage solo for a few more songs, including "Girl In The War" and "You Don't Make It Easy Babe", both of which were soft, like singing around a campfire. For a few verses of "Girl" he was away from the microphone, singing with us. The same thing had happened earlier in the show with "Empty Hearts", where the balcony got a verse of the chorus and then all of us got one, and he just listened. I really liked that. It made me feel, as an audience member, that I was involved with the show and that he was really sharing his music. That might be sappy, but it was a good feeling. For those who were wondering (Jen) he did indeed play "Lantern" and we all got glowstick bracelets at the door for that very song. That was obviously a very special song and one of the last he played before the encore. Another highlight of the night was "Kathleen". Being Valentine's Day and all, there was a nice buildup of "everybody wipe your palms and prepare to get awkward" before he bust out the disco ball and romantic bari sax to lead us in D.C.'s largest slowdance, making the whole thing a much more enjoyable version of a middle school dance. And "Kathleen" was played exactly how it should be, big and swelling and nostalgic. Mr. Ritter is just so good at what he does. His songs are incredible, of course, but he's also a really special performer. The most striking thing is how excited he is to be playing music. He smiled virtually nonstop, jumping and dancing around the stage, joking with the audience and band, and he was effusive in his gratitude for the organizers, band, and audience. Maybe the best illustration of the evening was the reaction of my friend Megan, who hadn't heard of either musician. She looked up their songs as soon as we got home and game her thoughts as, "I think I'm in love with Josh Ritter." The encore included a duet by Scott and Josh (yaaaay!) and ended with "To The Dogs Or Whoever" which I sadly had to leave halfway through. The Metro waits for no man, no matter how talented a songwriter.
This whole experience and trip was kind of a big thing for me. Not only was it my first concert, it was the first time I really took initiative and planned an entire trip. That's not something I'm usually comfortable with, and the fact that it went so well added anther layer of sweetness to the whole thing. Best Valentine's Day ever.
(Disclaimer: not my pictures)