Review: Will Hoge / Backyard Tire Fire - 11/15/06
Review by Lazlo
Photos by Naomi
Often when I go to review a rock show, I have pen and paper at the ready to jot down notes. After all, I'm there to report on the show, so I should be professional and accurate in the information that I am conveying to you.
In reality though, what makes a review good, in my opinion, isn't necessarily remembering what songs were played in what order, or every little thing that happened, but more so, conveying the experience. The experience of a Will Hoge show is somewhere in the level magnitude of catharsis and joy.
Let me explain.
Last Wednesday, the day of the show at Maxwell's, I had been stuck in a meeting all afternoon at my day job where I was basically being blamed for something that wasn't my fault, so when I was driving up to Maxwell's that evening with my wife, I was in a foul mood. I wasn't sure if even a great show by Will Hoge could purge all of my tension and leave me feeling good, but I was sure hoping.
The evening began with a set by Backyard Tire Fire, and by the second song of their set, I was letting their blend of country, rock, blues, and soul, distract my mind from my bad day. These guys were really good, and a perfect complement to Will Hoge's sound.
And then Will came out, at first just him and his keyboard player, to do a beautiful version of Will's ballad, "lover tonight", which was marred slightly by the inconsiderate people talking loudly by the bar. I've said it before, I'll say it again, why would anyone spend money to go see a show and then talk loudly instead of paying attention? I just don't get it.
But no worries, because Will and the rest of the band then ripped through a few rockers, and won over most of those chatty people, as Will always seems to win over new fans everywhere he goes.
Some highlights:
I was happy to see that on a Wednesday night he managed to practically sell out Maxwell's (including getting several people I know from the local music scene to drive up from the Asbury Park area).
For this leg of the tour, Erica was out with the band again as Will's back-up singer. Erica has got this amazingly powerful gospel soul voice, which accompanies Will's songs so well. If you read this Will, make Erica a permanent part of the band already!
During the encore, Will added several songs to the setlist, which I guess means he and the rest of the band were having as much fun playing as we were watching. Among the songs he added was, "not that cool", which I had spoken to Will about in an interview a week before, commenting that last time I saw him people were asking for him to play it and he didn't. Not sure if that's why he played, but I'm glad he did.
Will and the band closed out the night with the always rocking, "all night long", during which, he and Adam, turned themselves into a weird pretzel, standing back to back playing each other's guitar. it was quite a sight to behold.
I went home that night not even thinking about my lousy day at work, and the next day at work I still had that good feeling going strong. That is the power of a Will Hoge show.
Review by Lazlo
Photos by Naomi
Often when I go to review a rock show, I have pen and paper at the ready to jot down notes. After all, I'm there to report on the show, so I should be professional and accurate in the information that I am conveying to you.
In reality though, what makes a review good, in my opinion, isn't necessarily remembering what songs were played in what order, or every little thing that happened, but more so, conveying the experience. The experience of a Will Hoge show is somewhere in the level magnitude of catharsis and joy.
Let me explain.
Last Wednesday, the day of the show at Maxwell's, I had been stuck in a meeting all afternoon at my day job where I was basically being blamed for something that wasn't my fault, so when I was driving up to Maxwell's that evening with my wife, I was in a foul mood. I wasn't sure if even a great show by Will Hoge could purge all of my tension and leave me feeling good, but I was sure hoping.
The evening began with a set by Backyard Tire Fire, and by the second song of their set, I was letting their blend of country, rock, blues, and soul, distract my mind from my bad day. These guys were really good, and a perfect complement to Will Hoge's sound.
And then Will came out, at first just him and his keyboard player, to do a beautiful version of Will's ballad, "lover tonight", which was marred slightly by the inconsiderate people talking loudly by the bar. I've said it before, I'll say it again, why would anyone spend money to go see a show and then talk loudly instead of paying attention? I just don't get it.
But no worries, because Will and the rest of the band then ripped through a few rockers, and won over most of those chatty people, as Will always seems to win over new fans everywhere he goes.
Some highlights:
I was happy to see that on a Wednesday night he managed to practically sell out Maxwell's (including getting several people I know from the local music scene to drive up from the Asbury Park area).
For this leg of the tour, Erica was out with the band again as Will's back-up singer. Erica has got this amazingly powerful gospel soul voice, which accompanies Will's songs so well. If you read this Will, make Erica a permanent part of the band already!
During the encore, Will added several songs to the setlist, which I guess means he and the rest of the band were having as much fun playing as we were watching. Among the songs he added was, "not that cool", which I had spoken to Will about in an interview a week before, commenting that last time I saw him people were asking for him to play it and he didn't. Not sure if that's why he played, but I'm glad he did.
Will and the band closed out the night with the always rocking, "all night long", during which, he and Adam, turned themselves into a weird pretzel, standing back to back playing each other's guitar. it was quite a sight to behold.
I went home that night not even thinking about my lousy day at work, and the next day at work I still had that good feeling going strong. That is the power of a Will Hoge show.