Brief Concert Rundown...

Last week marked the week I had been waiting for for quite some time. My first Girl Talk show AND my third Ray LaMontagne show. Wow. Both shows were equally amazing but for totally different reasons. Here's a brief rundown of my experience at each show.

Girl Talk
WHEN: Monday, November 2, 2009
WHERE: House of Blues, Boston
RUNDOWN: Total shit show. First things first, I think it was an all ages show. People watching was amazing. Teenage hipsters (young adult hipsters and 40+ hipsters were there too) were plentiful, teenage girls wearing hooker boots & Flash Dance sweaters were in abundance...as was the smell of beer, sweat and pot. That all aside, the show was better than I expected. Toilet paper was being shot into the air and after a few drinks, I let loose and had a good time. I was consistently bopping along to the beat but it wasn't until I downed my third $8.00 PBR that I unbuttoned my shirt and started grinding against my girlfriends. Greg Gillis put on quite the show, drenched in sweat at one point, he ripped his shirt off. I can't believe the guy is my age! My favorite part was when security opened the flood gates and let a stream of children...err...teens...onto the stage. It was tremendous! I, meanwhile, was perched happily along the side of the stage in front of the bar. Perfect standing spot. Definitely one of the most energetic and exciting shows of my life (thus far).

Ray LaMontagne
WHEN: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
WHERE: Wang Theater
RUNDOWN: Totally relaxed. That's how I feel everytime I see Ray LaMontagne live. There's just something SO passionate about his voice...it's nearly orgasm-inducing (sorry to sound so perverse). The last time I saw Ray was last year at the Opera House in Boston. That show saw Ray perform, backed by a full band, back-up singers - the works. This time, it was just Ray, his guitar (s) and the occasional harmonica. Stripped down and rockin' a cowboy hat - Ray was a man of few words. What words he did have for the sold out audience were soft. He did joke back and forth with the audience... rhetorically asking which song he should sing next. He also let it slip that he hopes to have the next album out by February 2010. YES! With a new Ray album, comes a new Ray tour. Ray said that if he had his way, he would only perform songs from each CD once. Record a CD, perform it...record another CD, perform it. Ray lamented on how it was hard to bring himself back to how and what he was feeling when he wrote certain songs. Somehow, he trucked on and put on a terrific show. LaMontagne is one artist that I will love forever and always - whether I'm 28 or 88.

Next up...Passion Pit in January at the House of Blues Boston (1/6/2010), followed (hopefully) by Lady Gaga in New York City at Radio City Music Hall (1/20 - 1/21/2010).

Natasha Bedingfield: Back In The Studio

YES YES YES! UK pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is working on her 3rd album (4th if you count N.B. & Pocketful Of Sunshine as two separate entities), tentatively due for release sometime early next year. In a recent blog post, Bedingfield talks about a recent vacation to Jamaica with her new husband, documentary filmmaker Matt Robinson.

"Caribbean culture and music really influenced me growing up; no wonder Amy [Winehouse] and Shakira spend so much time there. It’s still very inspiring musically," writes Bedingfield. She even goes on to talk about a conversation she had with the Jamaican Minister of Tourism about a potential future gig.

Back in August, Natasha updated fans, talking about collaborations with Sam Sparro, Sia, Danielle Brisebois, John Shanks, Wyclef & Estelle. Since then, her list has grown considerably! According to Natasha, we can also expect contributions from Kleerup (Robyn, Cyndi Lauper), John Hill (Shakira, Jennifer Lopez), Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse, Nelly Furtado), Ryan Tedder (Leona Lewis, Backstreet Boys), Eg White (Adele, Will Young), Wayne Wilkins (Jordin Sparks, Cheryl Cole), Phonogenic, and Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Alanis Morissette) to name...erm...quite a few.

That sounds like a hot record. I love that she's really bringing on the talent here, not that she really needs too much help with the songwriting. I think she does just fine on her own as far as that's concerned. Still...this is all exciting. I'm particularly interested to see what the Kleerup collaboration sounds like.

Bedingfield writes, "You all know, writing is my favourite part of the music process. I’m really savoring it and working on a sound that is fresh and brings everything up a few notches. I can’t wait for you to hear the new material.

Check out Natasha Bedingfield on the web:

Official Site//MySpace//Facebook//Bebo//YouTube//Twitter