This evening, I had the privilege of trekking to Nelsonville, Ohio to spend an intimate evening with a man who is quite well-known amongst folk music fans across the world.
Loudon Wainwright III stopped in Stuart's Opera House for an hour-and-a-half show, playing both new tunes and old favorites. This was the first time I had had the opportunity to even go inside Stuart's, and I was pleasantly surprised at the venue. The stage and seating itself is actually nestled in the second floor of the building, and though it certainly does not look brand new by any means, I would never have guessed that the place was over 130 years old if I didn't know any better.
As for Loudon, well, he was fantastic. The man crafts catchy, engaging folk tunes that are funny when he wants them to be, emotional when he wants them to be... either way, no matter what emotion Wainwright attempts to convey, it always comes out perfectly. And there was nothing better than seeing his eyes light up when the crowd reacted favorably to his music, mainly through laughs when Wainwright made a gesture or simply said something humorous. It was never a dull moment, that was for sure.
I did find it pretty funny that I was almost certainly one of the youngest there. Granted, Loudon's not a young man himself, now in his mid-60s. But the crowd was definitely mostly of the elderly generation. In a way, I actually felt kind of cool. I mean, here's this guy, whom most my age may not know at all, and I'm not only aware of him, but I'm sitting amongst people twice my age (sometimes three or even four times, at that) clapping, smiling and singing along.
I guess I just love music. And it doesn't matter who wrote it, if they're 22 or 92. If it sounds good, I'm game. And trust you me, Loudon Wainwright sounds damn good. Even after all these years, his vocals are still perfect. Particularly, I enjoyed his take on "Daughter", which was released in 2007 as part of Wainwright's Strange Weirdos album. It was featured in the movie Knocked Up, if I'm not mistaken. Heck, Wainwright himself was in that movie. Remember Dr. Howard? Yep. That's him.
All in all, it was a fantastic night. I'm really glad I made it out. Tomorrow night, I'll be hitting up the Mumford & Sons show in Columbus. You bet I'm excited!
No comments:
Post a Comment