From: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org (shindell-list-digest) To: shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: shindell-list-digest V5 #246 Reply-To: shindell-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-shindell-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk shindell-list-digest Sunday, November 9 2003 Volume 05 : Number 246 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [RS] Bryn Mawr & Philly concerts [BillyP122@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2003 20:19:35 EST From: BillyP122@aol.com Subject: [RS] Bryn Mawr & Philly concerts A quick "hello" to you all. I had the utterly pleasurable experience of attending Richard's concert Thursday evening at The Point in Bryn Mawr as well as the two sets he sang last night at the Tin Angel. At all three concerts he sang mostly new songs and they are all so wonderful that I afterwards felt guilty for having requested (prior to the start of the concert) he sing "You Again." One of the new songs, called "There Goes Mavis," is absolutely mesmerizing. On Thursday, when singing the line in it that goes, "The castle is in danger..." the fire alarm at the fire station just across the street sounded (it was too perfectly timed to have been pre-arranged). He continued strumming his guitar while making funny facial expressions and delivered wry one-liners that kept the audience's attention and eased our impatience as the fire trucks roared away down Lancaster Avenue. The evening continued with police cars driving by at regular intervals, their sirens blaring. At the Tin Angel, the background noise wasn't created by sirens but by the constant beat of a rap music party next door which was annoyingly audible through the North wall of the club - -- however, none of these distractions seriously diverted anyone away from Richard and instead underscored his lyrics that focus so accurately on the psychic, physical and emotional dispositions shared by so many of us. The Tin Angel shows were opened by a guy named Terence Martin. Richard played second guitar on Terence's song "The Way It Didn't Go" which Richard later said he wish he had written himself. I've been listening to it a few times today on Terence's CD, "Sleeper," which I bought after the show. It's a beautiful CD and I look forward to hearing him soon again in concert. I look forward to Richard's upcoming CD and am curious to hear how the songs have been arranged with the musicians with whom he recorded them in Buenos Aires. He seemed to have tremendous (almost gleeful) pride in the new recording as well as a bit of anxiety natural to any artist who really pushes themself forward in their own creativity. In the meantime, I want to remember how he sang them here and hold on to the way it felt to hear him sing them. Soon enough the recorded versions will reverberate within the walls of my house. I suspect everyone at the shows was a died-in-the-wool Shindell fan. If invited, I suspect everyone there would have sung along to the "Are You Happy Now?" line and several folks were taking photos. The four friends I dragged with me Thursday hadn't heard him before but each one walked away in love with his songs. In the eleven years that I've been listening to his songs and going to concerts I always walk away stunned and in even greater awe than before. He did sing "You Again" for which I am grateful. It's not the only one of his songs that makes me feel like a deer in the headlights; similar to looking at a fire in a fireplace or standing overlooking a body of water at dusk or at night, this song in particular brings the past into the present and instills me with a feeling I usually only dream of. The second show at the Tin Angel ended just after 1 AM. After looking forward to both concerts for several months (and in bracing myself for the long walk home across town) I suddenly felt like a teenager in my resignation: the sadness I sometimes associate with a task or an experience completed. I don't know how to end this except to say that throughout the day I have felt pleasure in fleetingly recounting the concerts (the experience reveberates) and I so look forward to the new CD and the next round of concerts. Your pal, Billy ------------------------------ End of shindell-list-digest V5 #246 ***********************************