Trios

A week ago, I got to see a trio that I have seen many times before. It's always a treat to see Sleeping at Last play. They seem to get better live every time I see them. The Keep No Score songs have really grown on me quite a bit since I last saw them. The crowd was the biggest they have drawn any time I have seen them in Dallas. The venue still is one of my least favorite, but at least they weren't trying to compete over a screamo band this time.

Last night, I got to see a trio that I had never seen before. They broke up shortly before I turned three. I know quite a bit of music from The Police, but I would never consider them one of my favorite bands. I was interested in seeing the reunion tour though. After buying, then selling a pair of decent tickets for the concert, yesterday morning, I jumped at the chance to get some cheap tickets for the show.

The crowd leaned to the old side, and the band was even older. The music was great though. Sting's voice sounded good, but it wasn't quite up to the high notes that he used to be there. Watching Stewart Copeland on the big screens was worth more than the price of admission though in my book. All in all, it was a fun show. Some great songs performed by aging legends who don't really like each other. I was glad I got to see them.

Recent Playlist:
The Books - Lost and Safe
The Police - Syncronicity
Richard Swift - Dressed Up For The Letdown
Iron and Wine/Calexico - In the Reins
Lassie Foundation - The El Dorado LP
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Pedro the Lion - It's Hard to Find a Friend
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Half Handed Cloud - Learning About Your Scale
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth
The Polyphonic Spree - The Fragile Army
Dosh - The Lost Take
Andrew Osenga - Letters to the Editor Vol. 1
The Choir - Circle Slide
New Ruins - The Sound They Make

Andy O

There are certain songwriters that I love and seem to rediscover every so often. I don't really forget about them, but they do sometimes leave regular rotation on my ipod. The albums sit there waiting to be found again, and I always make it back. More so than just great music, great lyrics draw me back in and remind me of how much the writer's words have impacted me at different points in my life. The songwriter that I rediscovered today was Andrew Osenga.

I discovered his old band The Normals early on in college. A buddy recommended Better Than This to me, so I ordered it through the BMG club I was a member of back then. I loved the songs and gave the disc a lot of listens. I picked up Coming to Life not too long after it came out and gave it a couple of listens. It spent about 6 months on my shelf after that gathering dust. Somewhere along the way I dusted it off and started listening to it again. I had no idea how much that cd would be used in my life sophomore year of college. I was beginning to really know what God's grace meant. The songs put into words a lot of what I was feeling and trying so desperately to really understand. I can still listen to that album and have it touch me in new ways.

I got to see them perform three or four times after that album came out before the next one came out. The spring of my junior year, I had some cash to spend for a concert at the student ministry I was involved in. A handful of other devoted Normals fans and I were able to make it it happen. We promoted the heck out of the show and were so excited. The night finally came and they lived up to the expectations. Aside from an extremely short conversation about the Vigilantes of Love shirt I was wearing, I didn't talk to him much at all. I didn't want to babble to this guy whose words had meant so much to me. In the promotional items we were sent, we received some copies of A Place Where You Belong. Quickly another album of Normals songs was a part of my soundtrack. Those last two Normals albums were easily the best "Christian" music to come out of that time. Sadly, it wasn't much longer until the Normals were done. Much like that concert of ours, not enough people gave the Normals a chance.

The next memory I have of Andrew Osenga, and the last time I saw him perform, was a last minute trip to Austin with a buddy to see him play. It was a long trip for a tall guy in a small truck. That show at an Asian student ministry, and a couple of white guys wearing A&M gear stuck out in the room of Asian Longhorn fans. We may have seemed a bit out of place, but it was definitely worth it. The songs were still there. There were a bunch of new ones that I didn't know too well, but we enjoyed every minute of them.

I've kept up with his solo work over the years. I never make it through an album without having to go back to listen to a song again because it has hit me differently than it ever has. Even this evening while thinking about writing this, I was floored by House of Mirrors and When Will I Run. Again, they put into words things that I could not define.

Today I downloaded his latest solo ep. He has it available for download at his site here. I'm already loving these songs. I really needed them today. It is a great story behind the ep too that you can read on the site. Go download it and give it a listen. Send him a few bucks to help him keep making such great music.

"one day I believe
I will open up my eyes
to see the good work that was begun
I'll be the only things I've ever wanted
to be
and I'll know I belong"
Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates - Andrew Osenga

Single Life

I've got another week of bachelorhood ahead of me. My wife has had a lot going on lately, which has left me here by myself much more often than I am used to. When I found out that she was going to be gone, I had grand hopes of being productive. I wanted to get stuff packed for our upcoming but undefined move. I wanted to get rid of some junk. I wanted to read. All in all, I've pretty much wasted a lot of time so far. I did have shredfest 2007 where I finally got rid of all those old bank statements and bills that I had for some reason decided to save. I don't know what good I would think my 1999 bank statement would do me aside from adding to the junk that I have had to move twice now. They are all confetti now thanks to my new trusty shredder. Starting today, I've got five nights that I can use to hopefully get some of these things done. We'll see what I can accomplish.

Playlist:
Get Him Eat Him - Arms Down
A Northern Chorus - The Millions Too Many
The National - Boxer
Damien Jurado - And Now That I'm In Your Shadow
Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche
Pedro the Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure
Mewithoutyou - A->B Life
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln
This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain
American Music Club - Love Songs for Patriots
Mice Parade - Mice Parade
The Violet Burning - Lipstick and Dynamite Wonder
Joy Electric - Unelectric
Bloomsday - The Day The Colors Died
Jacobstone - Chambers and Volumes
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
Randy Newman - The Randy Newman Songbook