Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band
(with Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs, Miniature Tigers)
June 7th, 2009
Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY)
(with Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs, Miniature Tigers)
June 7th, 2009
Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY)
Just thinking about hearing Kevin Devine's voice in person made me feel like a little child opening up presents on Christmas morning. That's the best description of my emotions I could possibly give you, because it's entirely true. And when he finally walked out on to that stage and picked up that acoustic guitar, and the notes started to flow, I knew it would be one of the best shows I would ever attend.
Brian Bonz, the first opener, is actually a member of Kevin Devine's band. A curly haired, chubby looking guy with the voice of an angel is the best way (and only) to describe Brian Bonz. I totally did not expect his voice to be so soft and soothing, but it was and it ruled. I cannot wait to hear more from Brian and his band, the Dot Hongs (not the Hot Dongs or the Hot Dogs).
The second opener, Miniature Tigers, were...interesting, to say the least. Straight out of Phoenix, Arizona, they are certainly an awkward group of musicians to look at, but don't let their appearance fool you. The vocalist, Charlie Brand, actually was standing outside the venue with my friend and I before the show and I happened to comment on his appearance...seeing as he was so tall and his long hair (creepily enough) draped over his face enough to make him look like Marla Hooch from the movie A League of Their Own. Drummer Rick Schaier, looking oddly misplaced within the crowd during Brian Bonz's set, looked like the 2009 version of Charlie Chaplain, sanz the tuxedo; or better yet, a taller Freddy Mercury with a bad haircut. Not fazed by their appearance, I was certainly impressed with their effort on the stage. Their music was fun, amusing, and certainly made me glad they were. I was not disappointed.
He started the show off with "Ballgame", which is quite possibly my favorite Kevin Devine song. A song filled with raw emotion, it touched me on a personal level more than any other song played that night (specifically, the lyric "I'm selfish enough to wanna get better, but backwards enough not to take any steps to get there"). No other song gave me goosebumps the way this one did and it is the one thing I will probably remember most about this show.
Kevin's politically savy crowd pleaser "No Time Flat", another one of my favorites, is always sure to please. Controviersial and catchy, this song was just as good live as it is on the album.
One of the things I learned and had not know before was that Kevin Devine is not only an amazing performer, but a really funny person. His interactions with the band members in between songs and his accounts of the many stories and inside jokes encountered by the group during their six weeks of touring were a nice touch to the show. During one particularly raunchy joke told by Brian Bonz about something that was said by Mike Strandberg (guitarist for Kevin's band), Kevin Devine even looked up into the balcony, where his mother and the rest of the band's family were sitting, and exclaimed "You're son didn't say that! I swear mom, my friends don't talk like that!"
Seeing Kevin Devine in person was a wonderful experience, and I hope that I will be able to do it again as soon as humanly possible. It will be very hard to top this show for me personally...and the one thing it did was prove that Kevin Devine remains one of the most underappreciated musicians in music right now.
SETLIST
Ballgame
Cotton Crush
Carnival
Another Bag of Bones
No Time Flat
You're Trailing Yourself
Go Haunt Someone Else
Hand of God
Fever Moon
Murphy's Song
Longer That I'm Out Here
Me and My Friends
Buried By the Buzz
I Could Be With Anyone
I Could Be With Anyone (encore)
You'll Only End Up Joining Them
All of Everything Erased
Noose Dressed Like a Necklace
The Burning City Smoking
Yr Husband
You Are the Daybreak
Just Stay
Brother's Blood
Brian Bonz, the first opener, is actually a member of Kevin Devine's band. A curly haired, chubby looking guy with the voice of an angel is the best way (and only) to describe Brian Bonz. I totally did not expect his voice to be so soft and soothing, but it was and it ruled. I cannot wait to hear more from Brian and his band, the Dot Hongs (not the Hot Dongs or the Hot Dogs).
The second opener, Miniature Tigers, were...interesting, to say the least. Straight out of Phoenix, Arizona, they are certainly an awkward group of musicians to look at, but don't let their appearance fool you. The vocalist, Charlie Brand, actually was standing outside the venue with my friend and I before the show and I happened to comment on his appearance...seeing as he was so tall and his long hair (creepily enough) draped over his face enough to make him look like Marla Hooch from the movie A League of Their Own. Drummer Rick Schaier, looking oddly misplaced within the crowd during Brian Bonz's set, looked like the 2009 version of Charlie Chaplain, sanz the tuxedo; or better yet, a taller Freddy Mercury with a bad haircut. Not fazed by their appearance, I was certainly impressed with their effort on the stage. Their music was fun, amusing, and certainly made me glad they were. I was not disappointed.
He started the show off with "Ballgame", which is quite possibly my favorite Kevin Devine song. A song filled with raw emotion, it touched me on a personal level more than any other song played that night (specifically, the lyric "I'm selfish enough to wanna get better, but backwards enough not to take any steps to get there"). No other song gave me goosebumps the way this one did and it is the one thing I will probably remember most about this show.
Kevin's politically savy crowd pleaser "No Time Flat", another one of my favorites, is always sure to please. Controviersial and catchy, this song was just as good live as it is on the album.
One of the things I learned and had not know before was that Kevin Devine is not only an amazing performer, but a really funny person. His interactions with the band members in between songs and his accounts of the many stories and inside jokes encountered by the group during their six weeks of touring were a nice touch to the show. During one particularly raunchy joke told by Brian Bonz about something that was said by Mike Strandberg (guitarist for Kevin's band), Kevin Devine even looked up into the balcony, where his mother and the rest of the band's family were sitting, and exclaimed "You're son didn't say that! I swear mom, my friends don't talk like that!"
Seeing Kevin Devine in person was a wonderful experience, and I hope that I will be able to do it again as soon as humanly possible. It will be very hard to top this show for me personally...and the one thing it did was prove that Kevin Devine remains one of the most underappreciated musicians in music right now.
SETLIST
Ballgame
Cotton Crush
Carnival
Another Bag of Bones
No Time Flat
You're Trailing Yourself
Go Haunt Someone Else
Hand of God
Fever Moon
Murphy's Song
Longer That I'm Out Here
Me and My Friends
Buried By the Buzz
I Could Be With Anyone
I Could Be With Anyone (encore)
You'll Only End Up Joining Them
All of Everything Erased
Noose Dressed Like a Necklace
The Burning City Smoking
Yr Husband
You Are the Daybreak
Just Stay
Brother's Blood
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