This is not food related whatsoever, but I have to post about it. We saw an effing fantastic show last night at the Cedar. I'd never heard of Ryan Montbleau Band, even though they've been touring like crazy for years. I can't believe I've never heard of them and wouldn't be surprised if they shoot into superstardom very soon.
My praise does not come lightly! I have a general dislike of live shows, especially if I don't know the band, because most of the time they come on, don't talk much, aren't very entertaining, you can't even make out the words to the songs, and it's too loud to talk to the person next to you. I only went to this show because Mark invited us and Nathan really wanted to go. (Thank you Mark, I will trust your taste in music for forever now!).
I won't even attempt to describe the music, but just check them out, go to their show, tickets are cheap, in the $10 range. Check out a great video of their music here.
Here's to compare to other great shows I've seen:
-I liked this way better than when we saw Rufus Wainwright last fall. That was a great show, but he was solo and it was in a much larger venue so that detracts from my experience.
-The only other time I can remember being absolutely, unexpectedly blown away by a band was when we caught Coach Said Not To at the 400 bar like two years ago. Unfortunately they haven't played or updated their website for a long time….
-It was probably as good as Cake, who I've only seen once a couple years ago at an outdoor festival. But I have all their CD's, it's more of a fun sing along experience, and their lead singer is more belligerent. (We're road tripping to Kansas City to see them on May 2nd again, can't wait!)
-You cannot compare to Pat McCurdy, but I can't write about live music without mentioning him. There is no performance that will ever come close to how much fun I used to have at Pat shows, and I stick to that even after seeing 50+ of his shows. He plays every Monday in Chicago, every Tuesday in Madison (where I went to college), and occasionally here in the twin cities. Check out his schedule, he plays almost every day of the year, no one should miss the opportunity to become absolutely crazy addicted to Pat… like I am ;-).
-Kelly
It was a great show, Kelly! I love catching bands at small venues before they hit it big. Thanks for posting that video, I hadn't seen it before. So, next up is this Pat guy at O'Gara's (6 blocks from my place) on Friday, May 1, 2009?
ReplyDeleteMark
I was at the show. Saw Ryan open solo for Martin Sexton last year in St. Paul and have been enjoying the music and was looking forward to seeing the whole band come through here. What an amazing show and I went from "just a fan" to *committed* fan. Need to write up the experience soon. Can't wait to see these guys again. It's such a great sound with the mix of instruments and Ryan's voice.
ReplyDeleteMark - we're out of town for the Pat show but he's here regularly so no worries!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - that is crazy coincidence that you were at the show and found our blog! How did you find us?
Hey -- maybe not so crazy of a coincidence -- I was looking around to see if anyone had anything to say about the show! (I also enjoyed Mark's post which I found from here.)
ReplyDeleteI'll not be so anonymous this time -- I wrote about seeing Ryan last year:
http://www.movingtofreedom.org/2008/11/07/ryan-montbleau-at-the-fitzgerald-theater/
And still planning to write about this concert. (Stay tuned!) We'll have to recruit more people next time to make sure they keep coming back. I thought we had a smallish but enthusiastic crowd and I think the band really responded to that. I'd prefer more "intimate" shows like this one, but I think they need a bigger fanbase to support the lifestyle and keep them going. It's a tough line of work.
Scott
Thanks Scott. Good to know someone looks at my stuff! I'll review your Ryan post tonight and check out your video too.
ReplyDeleteMark