Trouble in The Union

Lasts night’s show at the Paradox was probably, in my opinion, one of the best in a while. Unfortunately for the bands, really good music isn’t the most popular and doesn’t necessarily bring people to the show. The turnout was lower than expected but the artists delivered nonetheless. Opening the show was a band called Turn Around. I think we just added them to the bill kind of at the last minute because Matthew Shaw had to cancel. Turn Around was an unfortunate choice to replace Matthew Shaw. They were pretty cheesy. Next up was J. Tillman. They were pretty amazing. They were all very nice guys, as was my experience as I shared some pre-show coffee and nicotine with them. You should definitely check out their web site and listen to the mp3’s they have there. And, if you feel so inclined, purchase the album “I Will Return” as I did last night. You will not be disappointed.
Next up was Dear Darling. They have played a few times at the Paradox and are worth checking out.

Headlining the show was the Western States. For a couple weeks prior to the show I have been listening to The Western States’ album “Trouble in The Union” quite a lot in anticipation for the show. I talked for while with Cameron Elliot, singer/guitarist/writer in the band, about the album. After listening to it many times all the way through my thoughts about themes running through it were confirmed and expanded by the insights I took from our conversation. In short, it is an album about the loss of community in all areas of our lives; In “the Union.” And the Union can, and is, the United States, the Church, our families and much more. But it is also filled with themes of fear, faith and hope. It is a concept album of sorts. Not so much in the Pedro the Lion story telling way, but there are themes running through the entire album and the album as a whole is a piece of art. This album is a perfect example of why I tend to stay away from making “mix” CD’s. I love looking at an album as a whole. I think the notion of an album being a cohesive piece of art is something that is lost in most of today’s commercial pop music. What it comes down to, is you really need to buy this album and listen to it because it’s damn good. Especially for you fans of Pedro, he plays drums on and helped record this album. I wish I could find the lyrics online some place because if I haven’t convinced you to buy and listen to it, the lyrical content of the album may. They will be playing with Headphones on June 12 at Neumo’s.

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend Headphones’ in-store performance at Sonic Boom on Tuesday. Actually not so much unfortunately because Jenae and I are having dinner with some friends from church, thus contributing to the big task of rebuilding what the Church has lost. I’ll see Headphones in June anyway.

Back to the States, the last song on the album ends with this:

“when all hope is gone, salvation comes”

Cheers

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