Archive for the ‘Nikki Taylor’ Category

The facts:

• Modest Mouse headlined at The Ryman yesterday evening.
• Love as Laughter and Band of Horses co-opened, in that order.
• I totally missed Love as Laughter’s set.

The celebrity sightings:

• Nikki Taylor with her twin boys in the balcony. Did I see one of the kids flipping through an autographed copy of the liner notes from Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead?
• Jack White’s fellow Raconteur Brendan Benson in the balcony trying to sit on some cute blonde’s lap. Oh behave Brendan.
• Bobby Bare Jr. and Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket guitarist) sitting together with their wives/better halves in the balcony. You know you’re in Nashville when the musicians in the audience don’t stand to watch the show. I love you Bobby, but get on your freaking feet son. Carl, if you’re reading this, we have a mutual friend so I really believe that entitles me to the opportunity of buying you a beer sometime in the not-so-distant future. Call me. We’ll be best friends. I just know it.

The observations:

• Ben Bridwell and his cowboy booted buddies have set the new standard for southeastern rock and roll. Their live sound is so tight and polished, and yet at the same time there is a raw energy that these guys play with that truly makes them a joy to watch. Ben is one hell of a front man too. Watching him reminds me of Chris Robinson, only with more talent. I’m a huge Chris Robinson/Black Crowes fan, so believe me, that’s saying something. Band of Horses played four tracks (I think) off of their upcoming album, and they were all excellent, especially the set closer. I didn’t catch the name of the song, so if anyone did, please chime in. I have a feeling they’ll be closing their next gig in Nashville with that one, and my bet is they’ll be headlining by that time. You could tell that the boys really appreciated the stage they were on, and it showed in their performance. Carl, I hope you were taking some notes, because as big a MMJ fan as I am, I have to say that the boys from South Carolina almost out-MMJed you on The Ryman hardwood last night.
• I’m not a huge Modest Mouse fan, although I am quite fond of their last two albums. That being said, Isaac Brock is truly a mad freaking genius, with an emphasis on mad. Seriously. Dude’s nuts. Sinister and nuts. I kept thinking Tom Peloso was going to slip in his cowboy boots (a tribute to Nashville maybe?); I’m glad he didn’t. Isaac’s screaming into his guitar pickups has to be one of the cooler rock and roll moves I’ve seen in a long time. Johnny Marr plays a mean guitar.

The conclusion:

• It was a good show, probably a great show if I were a hard core MM fan. The stage got stolen though, and I think the thieves were wearing western shirts and banging tambourines with drumsticks, kind of like this… (from an earlier BoH show this year)