I’ve actually lost count of how many Ladies’ shows I’ve seen. Gotta remember …

1. September 1999
2. October 2000
3. February 2002
4. November 2006

I have to believe that there was a show between 2002 and 2006, but I’m not positive. i’ll have to consult my stubs.

I do remember this about each and every show: they all ruled with the highest auhority given to bands. their crowd interaction and energy are unparalleled, even by the likes of Muse, who seemingly have boundless energy. I highly suspect that tonight’s show will be at least 100%.

well, okay … maybe only 80%, but that is only due to the absence of Steven Page–one of the founding members if the band. I’m sure the rest of the band will give 100%. They always do.

So now I’m in the venue. pretty nice place. supposedly, they have pizza and chips upstairs, bit we can’t get upstairs yet. My wife is stuck in traffic somewhere. She won’t be here for about an hour.

BNL. I can’t say enough good things about them. they’re fun. they love their fans. they enjoy being with their fans. they’re not narcissistic ingrate; they know who propelled them into the limelight, and they show their gratitude through their shows.

Tonight, I even brought my camera. Totally laid back policy. Pics are good and blessed; vids are not. And that’s totally understandable.

The bar tender here is talking music with me. She likes a lot of indie hippie type stuff. Here’s the list:

• G Love and the Special Sauce (“sloppy jazz,” sounds kind of like a mix of Sublime and Bob Marley)
• Missy Higgins
• Michael Fronti
• Keb Mo
• Taj Mahal Trio
• Xavier Rudd
• Spearhead
• Jay Nash, “A Stream up North”

I’m always on the search for new music.

These are some of the people ahead of us in line.

As one person stated earlier, BNL crowds are all about the fun. That’s so true. Most everyone gets along, there aren’t a lot of rude people … it’s always a really laid back atmosphere.

These are some of the people behind us.

WE ARE IN! I am flat-out in lov with this place. it’s tiny, it’s intimate, and it looks amazing. Lori and I have a table 15 feet from the stage and 20 fro
where the band will be. TINY.

This was taken from the very back of the floor. See how close everything is?

this is the view from our table. I can’t believe how close we are.

apparently, “hang our coats” is chick chat for “steal the seats in front of you and totally obliterate your view.”

Lori nailed it: this place is totally like The House of Blues in Vegas.

So this is Kevin Griffen, the lead singer from Better than Ezra.

Guy is mellow and cool. Great stage presence. Didn’t know this, but he wrote “You and I collide,” or whatever that song is called. He did a duet of “Silent Night” with Megan Joy – a SLC local.

Shout-out to Michelle and Stori. We chatted with them some of the night. Excellent convo, new friends! Their picture is below.

BNL’s new material is frickin’ awesome. I can’t wait to get their new CD in March.

During the song “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlmen,” Ed said, “Ladies and gentlemen, a very special Christmas gift just for you, Salt lake, will you please welcome our good friend, Sarah McLachlan, to the stage?” We all went berserk. And I do mean EVERYone. Then Ed just grinned. “Ha ha. Just kidding.” Good one, Ed. Good one. I don’t think I’ve ever been that suckered at a show.

There’s some drunk idiot behind is who keeps yelling negative stuff about the new stuff. it’s getting annoying. “I’ll whistle when they play something I know.” Direct quote. Sad.

Well, now we’re home. The show was amazing. Like I said, they played some new stuff that sounded really good. The new CD in March should be extremely well written and played. I like that everyone will probably have a contributing hand in it. Why shouldn’t they? Jim, Tyler and Kevin are all talented musicians. They SHOULD have a bigger role. I always liked BNL’s stuff when Steve was with the band, but it just seemed like he was kind of taking over. He’s good–no arguments there … but when you have a band of 5, and 2 contribute on a routine basis, it gets kind of … I don’t know. I hesitate to use the word “stale,” but truthfully, the last 2 CDs were kind of just that.

I really enjoyed getting to see Jim walk around stage. No upright bass for this show–just Jim and his 4-string slung over his neck. And he plays back-up vocalist extremely well. He and his brother Andy have a side project called “The Brothers Creegan.” Lori and I have their CD “Trunks.” It’s amazing. The more I think about it, the more excited I get for the new CD.

So I scored a free hat. The drunk guy behind me actually tried starting a fight. Long story short, it never came to a brawl, but it almost did. Finally, he calmed down, and we went back to enjoying the show.

A few minutes later, he must have felt drunk love or whatever cuz he put his arm around me and said, “You know, it’sh not that I don’t like this shtuff … I jusht really missh Shteve …” Yes, well … he left a rather large hole to fill. However, the band, and I do mean THE WHOLE BAND, filled those shoes more than adequately. After that and a couple minutes later, he gave me his hat. Apparently, he had just bought it. I don’t know.

Anyway, to all of those who end up reading this and were at the show, I sincerely apologize if “that incident” took away from your enjoyment of the show. I don’t think anyone enjoys negativism for a band they paid good money to see. Yah, if the band sucks and deserves to be booed, sure. That was certainly not the case last night.

Here are some of the choice pics from the show.