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Monday, February 1, 2010

Music Review #2: Todd Snider

Derick and I are quite the social butterflies right now in Austin! Saturday night, despite he being at a bike race all day long (spectating) and me doing my first bike/run session in about 4 months, we ignored our slight fatigue and ventured out again for some live music. Since he was not hungry for dinner as he had eaten at Rudys BBQ (one of Austin's finest), I took the chance to have dinner at my favorite place, Polvos, and catch up with an old friend. That is putting it mildly; Lisa and I knew eachother in 2nd grade. She moved away, and she was (to me) lost and gone forever. I went to my 10-year high school reunion and ran into a friend who had kept in touch with Lisa. Long story short, she was now living in Austin (as was I) and we got back in touch. She had also lived in Colorado for a few years (while I had lived in Colorado Springs for about 5 years). To top it off AGAIN, she is now living about 1/2 mile from us in a house she bought, as did we. I could say Lisa is my long-lost best friend-meant-to-be, but it is really just a pretty crazy story. Best part is, Lisa loves margaritas about as much as I do! She is an architect and it is always refreshing to catch up with her and talk non-triathlon talk for an evening.

SO... back to the music... we had dinner, and Derick and I then ventured on to the Cactus Cafe, a great place to see music. It is also the Texas Union Ballroom; so it really feels like a 'show' vs. being at a bar. Our first (and only next to this one) show there was Brandi Carlile, who absolutely blew our socks (or my boots!) off. This time, we kind of splurged on Todd Snider tickets. Neither Derick nor I really knew any of his songs, but we both loved his sound. Oh, how to explain him... kind of Bob Dylan-meets-Bob Schneider (hear me out here; he raps a bit)-meets Tom Waits, but a bit more bluegrassy and less raspy; with even a bit of just good old country. To top it off, he is a great story-teller (many of which involve prison) and just plain entertaining. Maybe we have gotten more 'refined' in our music tastes, thanks to living in this kickass city, but it seems that both Derick and I can go to a show that we don't really know much about and enjoy it from start to finish. I'll keep my ramblings succinct this time; but if you do check out Todd Snider, give a listen to the following songs:

  • Enjoy Yourself
  • Tillamook County Jail (I told ya...)
  • Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males
I am sure we may have different taste in music, but I bet that if you listen to these, you'll find yourself smiling. And if this isn't the point of good music, what is?

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