Guess what, 2018 is already half over!

Wow, it has been far too long since I've posted something. Lately I've been feeling pretty uninspired, and if I don't feel excited about something, I won't write. But there are a few things I want to mention and say that I'm excited for in the next few months!

So far this year, I've been to a handful of shows, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. I saw Shakey Graves for what, the third time now, in Boston at Royale. Check out the YouTube channel for some videos from that show. It was great, but unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of his new stuff. Based on audience reaction to "Late July" and "Roll The Bones", I'd have to say that most people feel the same way. But good news is that everyone keeps on coming back for him because he's a great performer and unique musician. I also really like going to that venue - Royale is in a random spot in Boston, near Tufts Medical Center and Chinatown and is actually part night club, but I love when there are multiple spots to view the stage, and for us short people, it really comes in handy to grab a spot at the railing on the 2nd floor. 

More recently, I saw a show at the good ol' (and I mean old) Webster Theater in Hartford. This venue is a complete dive, and I'm somewhat surprised that it's still operating due to the fact that it has to be a complete fire hazard! But nonetheless, I've actually seen some pretty good acts at this place - Jason Mraz at the Underground back when MySpace was a thing (ha), and Jon McLaughlin, and New Politics. The show I went to in June was Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness ft Allen Stone, Bob Oxblood, and Zac Clark. [if you want a mouthful, the actual full title was "An Acoustic Evening with Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness & Friends, as part of The Pen and The Piano Tour.]

So if you don't know who Andrew McMahon is, and you were born sometime between 1985-1989, you probably remember the band Something Corporate. Andrew was the lead singer of Something Corporate, and then the follow-up band Jack's Mannequin. Classic early 2000 pop/piano rock bands that have a surprisingly strong following, even today. I actually bought a ticket to the show to see Allen Stone (who is AMAZING), figuring that he was going to be an opener. But the venue was actually PACKED, which is unusual for Hartford CT, and then the show was actually an entire night of all four guys playing together, which was pretty cool. So Allen played piano and guitar, Andrew obviously played piano, and Bob Oxblood, who actually used to be in both bands with Andrew, played guitar. Zac also played guitar and lent some vocals here and there. 

The show was pretty great, the crowd was reallly into it (definitely more of an older group), and while Allen only played a few songs on his own (check the YouTube channel), it was still cool to finally hear him live. Unfortunately, there was a snafu with my camera being stopped at the door (booo) so I couldn't get any good photos or videos, but it was cool that Allen and Andrew came out into the audience - and both times, happened to go right where I was standing! 

That kind of does it for shows so far, sadly. Work has been crazy and all over the place, and I haven't done as much travelling as usual. But I'm stoked about some of the upcoming shows on my list - Jason Mraz in Boston on Aug. 2, Lollapalooza on Aug. 3 (BRUNO MARS), Tash Sultana in Boston on Nov. 16, and Allen Stone in Chicago on Dec. 1!! Hopefully we can throw in a few more in Sept. and Oct. - so if you hear of any good ones, give us a shoutout @freeurmusicsoul. 

That's all I got for now. Hope ya'll are finding good music that reaches your soul and staying happy! 

-FYMS-