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Author Topic: Review: Lisa Lambe Show at Decatur, GA  (Read 5065 times)
Scott
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« on: August 09, 2015, 06:29PM »


I have said it before, but it still bears repeating: the shows are only part of why I journey. Over the course of my involvement with the amazing performers from Ireland, a sliding scale has developed. In the beginning, the show was almost all that mattered. As time has passed, the shows, though still important, have taken on a more peripheral role. For me now the primary interest in going to the shows is to be in company with the like-minded spirits who have been moved, as I have, by the spectacle of these incredible performers. When I say "I'm going to a show" what I really mean is "I'm attending a reunion with dear friends and we'll take in a show." That describes my journey to Decatur.

But I have to give the performer(s) their due. It had been almost twenty months since I had last seen Lisa Lambe: Dallas on the Celtic Woman 2013 Symphony Tour. It had been a very long twenty months, during which I'd missed her terribly. I vowed that if she did any appearances in America, I would find a way to get there. I made the conscious choice early on to focus on Decatur rather than Lisa's debut at Nashville. Part of the reason for my choice was because of the venue at Decatur being a more intimate location.

The period between Red Rocks (my last show) and Decatur had been a hard run for me. I had been working overtime each and every week, and worked eighteen consecutive days leading up to my flight to Georgia, so as not to miss any extra time at work. I couldn't believe that I would average forty-eight hours a week all summer and STILL make time to journey to see Lisa. Also during this interval I bought a car and had my hands full for almost two weeks.with everything associated with that purchase.

Thursday morning I awoke for my travels. For the first time I would be driving to the airport instead of being driven. The morning went smoothly leading up to my 12:50pm flight. We taxied out onto the tarmac and then I heard the announcement that I dreaded most: Atlanta had declared an all-stop due to weather and we would have to wait it out. Going through my mind were visions of the fiasco leading up to Denver for the CW Red Rocks show a mere two months ago. During more than six years of flying to shows, I had never experienced weather delays until this summer. I was on and off the phone with Tony several times, keeping him updated, as he was expecting to be my ride into Decatur upon my landing. Finally Atlanta lifted their ban, and we lifted off. I gave a silent prayer of thanks but I wanted to cheer and shout haha.

Arriving in Atlanta, we checked in at the Decatur Quality Inn and Google-mapped a suitable Longhorn restaurant to eat dinner for the five of us: Tony, Dwight, Moscapoet, Mike, and myself. We also sat up at the hotel talking very late into the night, but that was standard operating procedure when going to shows. The next morning's hotel breakfast would hold us over while we visited the Georgia Guidestones, with Tony acting as my tour guide. Arriving back to Decatur we headed over to the venue.

Eddie's Attic is an upstairs eatery-pub in a college-dominated nightclub district. An outdoor patio for casual dining and an indoor sitting room for performances, with an extremely small foyer, is about all there is. The performance room itself could hold perhaps one hundred patrons, with small tables, a bar, and a very short bleacher section in the back. The stage was about a foot high and very crowded with venue drum kit and equipment. I discovered later that many of the southeast's singer-songwriting acts, such as Shawn Mullins and Sugarland, had gotten their start playing at Eddie's.

After eating dinner on the patio (for me consisting of one of the finest cheeseburgers ever created), we spent time talking at the merch table with Lisa's husband Simon, who had come out to set up. I showed Simon one of my Lisa Lambe masterwork graphic wallpapers, and he told me it was gorgeous. Mike, standing beside me, and without solicitation, showed another of my excellent pieces, this one being the screen background on his phone, the Mairead Meadow graphic I had made five years earlier. Simon told me to make sure to show it to Lisa after the show, which I promised I would do. I choked back a tear as I walked away, and the show wasn't even started yet.

My own seat was at a table directly in front of the stage, facing the keyboard - one of the absolute best seats in the house. The close fans included myself, Dwight, and Tony at my table, with Dee, Stephanie Foster and her son Aaron, Patricia, Ennica, Jamie, Mike, Moscapoet, Gerald and family, Eric and Linda Sterling, with Cindy, Donna, and Jeremy arriving just before show time. I passed the time talking with Tony, Patricia, and Dee nearby.

Then it was time for Lisa Lambe! She walked out to the stage, wearing a white dress with a gray unbuttoned sweater, with a tan hat atop her red hair. Along with her was guitarist Pat Bergeson.

"Every Time I Fall In Love" was only slightly more stripped down than her album version, but she hit a couple of the notes higher than she had on the album; I liked this, as I thought the one glaring weakness of her solo album had been the lack of display of the great power of her voice but here in this live performance that power was a bit more evident.

"Locked Up In Heaven" yes, THIS was the way to hear this song, in a live setting; there was an essense, best described after the set by Mike as "soulful", which she imparts that I totally missed in her recorded work, especially in this one song. Awesome!

"Just Another Small Town Heartache" was next on the "menu" as Lisa herself said haha. Also as described by Lisa, this was a new song, first aired in Nashville. Cute song, I would need to hear it more to make an objective critique of it.

"Heaven" was pretty much a straight-up rendition of the album track.

Skipping ahead for the moment, she also did "Hiding Away", she gave a few "Wooo!"s during the song. She was clearly having fun with it, much as she did with "Ain't Love Something" which she dedicated to Simon Morgan, a more than worthy recipient.

"Since You Went Away" was, as she described it, a slow one. I like how she sings "seems like to me", she has an almost Texas accent as she sings those words live.

"All We Are" became a sing-along with the crowd singing the chorus parts at Lisa's urging, with Lisa telling us we were doing beautiful. A well-earned standing ovation!!

One Lisa song needs special attention. The previous night while relaxing in the hotel room, I had inquired with Mike and the other guys about events in Nashville, including what songs Lisa had done. They named off the songs from her album, along with a couple of non-album tracks. One of those was a song they identified as a Mindy Smith song called "Hurricane." I was puzzled as I had heard of neither the artist nor the song; and so, being in an ambitious mood, I turned to my laptop beside me and said, "well, let's look it up." I found a youtube upload of the Mindy Smith version and played it on the laptop while the other guys kept up their banter. I loved the song and immediately bookmarked it! Returning to my own hotel room later before bed, I listened to it again, and began to hope against hope that Lisa would sing it on Friday night.

And so, after doing "Heaven", she announced that the next song described the beautiful summer weather back where she hailed from: "This is 'Hurricane.'" I had to keep from jumping out of my seat! Lisa's version was absolutely gorgeous, slightly more somber yet heartfelt. My applause at the end of the song cannot thank you enough, Lisa.

The lighting was a non-factor, it had been static the entire time, which was fine considering the show was in a bar. The sound was excellent, perhaps the finest I had ever heard in any bar. The crowd had been very good, which was not a surprise considering three of the five front tables were full of the fan community people.

It bears mentioning that Lisa's solo performances are not at all like what you might have come to expect from watchinglistening to her during her Celtic Woman days. I talked to Mike, Tony, and Moscapoet, who had all been at Nashville, and they told me that this performance was different even from Nashville; in that previous show, Lisa was accompanied by multiple guitars and a percussionist. In this performance it was just Lisa with the one guitar. Mike mentioned that this arrangement showcased Lisa's soulfulness, and I would completely agree.

After giving Cindy a hug near the end of intermission, I sat down for the second act, during which the headliner took the stage: Gabe Dixon. I can't really give an objective review of his songs. Overall, I will say that he sings, plays keyboard, a bit of guitar, and has great stage presence with a good sense of humor. He also has great energy on stage and is extremely talented playing the keyboard. He created a fun and entertaining atmosphere. Moscapoet said his performance recalled Billy Joel. To me, his voice was very much like Jackson Browne. There was a definite crowd of Gabe fans at the show, and with good reason. He did two duets with Lisa Lambe, where they harmonized beautifully together. I did not know the songs, "Even the Rain" and "Further the Sky".

After the show there was a meet and greet in the lobby. Another show was on the schedule, and the second crowd had to wait in the crowded lobby with all of us from the first show trying to meet Lisa. It was very loud and the wonder is that anyone could hear anything until that crowd was allowed into their room. I did get to say a few words to her, including a thanks to her for including "Hurricane" tonight, with a hug and sweet thanks back from her for my support. I also had a chance to talk for a few minutes with guitar player Pat Bergeson, who mentioned that he'd played guitar with country singer Suzy Boggus, Shelby Lynne, and Chet Atkins.

A bunch of us headed over to The Square Peg, a pub around the corner from Eddie's. I limited myself to just a fruit punch and nibbling some of the carrots on Eric's plate. Talking with Mike, the biggest topic was, interestingly enough, Chloe Agnew. Back at the hotel, I said my "till-next-time" to Mike. In the morning, I did the same when Tony dropped Moscapoet and myself off at the airport. MP and I sat and talked near his gate until the time came for me to make my way to my own gate. I arrived home by noon, tired but very pleased. This had been a trip that I'd not soon forget.

As was the case with Lisa Kelly's shows, it's not exactly fair to give a tour retrospective when my participation has been a single show. Time will be it's own evaluator. I must say that I was impressed and that LL made the right choice by going with an acoustic style for the show in Decatur. It's something she should do again.

When everyone said to me "See you at the Christmas show", I replied the same way to all: "Hopefully". We do not know what obstacles may come up... nor, what miracles may happen. The road may lead me to Georgia yet again. So instead, I'll end with words spoken in years past by the wonderful Lil' Lambe: "May the road rise to meet you..."



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Jim M.
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« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2015, 06:39PM »

Thank you, Scott.  Your reviews are the best. Wink
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Jack
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« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2015, 09:44AM »

Very nice review, Scott.  Pretty depressed we weren't able to attend any of Lisa's shows.  I'm looking at four front row tix we had for Nashville, but were unable to use.  SIL now in early recovery from quadruple bypass surgery, doing well so far.  I miss the old days of CW show reviews, and I always looked forward to reading yours. 
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