Yes, I know, singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile is from the opposite side of the country, not Charleston, S.C. But when she took the stage last evening, she didn't realize we had been waiting for her all this time. She does now and seemed genuinely happy and at home with the at-capacity crowd that filled the Music Farm.
In my concert preview article in last week's Charleston Scene, I quoted Brandi as saying that sometimes a concert is "gut wrenching and sometimes it's just a party."
Last night, Brandi threw us a party.
She threw numerous picks into the audience as the finale for songs. She whipped the cord of her electric guitar around like a tail. She laughed with bandmates, talked between songs, and at one point, asked the crowd with a laugh, "What would you like to hear? The set list has pretty much gone to shit at this point!"
People shouted. Brandi made eye contact and listened. And she played the songs that had been requested. And then she played more. And what is a good party without a Johnny Cash song? Well, not good enough, the band thought, so they threw in the most awesome (yes, I am a writer and should come up with a fresh term here, but, well, it WAS most awesome) version of "Folsom Prison Blues" that has ever been played outside of Folsom Prison.
Thanks Brandi. Y'all come back now, ya hear?
and Brandi ended the show with her on the piano singing "Mad World" by Tears for Fears. Once she was finished singing the cello played solo for another minute and then the show was complete. amazing.
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