it was the musical month of May

Music plays a big part in my life, and for some reason when I get to see concerts, my favorite artists tend to be in the area within days of each other.  Such was the case last year, when I saw both Bruce Springsteen and Keith Urban in concert in less than a week.

And this year, it was James Taylor and Carole King, followed by Josh Rouse in concert just a few days later.

Josh is not as well known as the others, and doesn't fill the Excel center.  Even better, he plays small venues, such as the Fine Line (where we last saw him) and the Dakota, where we had the great pleasure of seeing him Saturday night.

Mike's brother Bob joined us, along with Charlie.  Bob is a major music aficianado, and first introduced us to Josh's music many years ago.  So it was only fitting that he make the journey from Bemidji to spend the night with us.

Josh had an opening act, AM, from California.  We really enjoyed their songs, an eclectic mix of music that we will be downloading to our Ipods as soon as we can.  You should have seen the look on Charlie's face when the band's drummer sat on the barstool next to Charlie when they were done with their set.  And later in the evening, the band's lead singer sat next to him for a bit too. 

I quietly whispered to him that he should let them know how much he enjoyed their music, you would have thought I told him he had to kiss the queen of England, nude.  Of course, he stayed quiet.  Considering he was by far the youngest person there, I think they would have liked to hear from him, but clearly my powers of persuasion are not up to par.  Look for their music, you have probably heard it before on various TV shows.  Such fun!

Our dinner plates had been cleared away, our drinks refilled, and a hush fell over the crowd.  Josh had been outside eating out on the patio, (leave it to the folks in the Twin Cities to let him dine in peace and not bug him).  I was sorely tempted to walk over and say hello...but of course I kept my distance.


Josh, oh Josh.  You were soulful, and sweet, and adorable.  You live in Spain now, where you fell for the country along with your wife, and are now a father.  I love the Brazilian undertones to your songs, and even though you sang some of the songs in Spanish, and I had no idea what you were singing about, I was still mesmerized.

Even though you don't think you are familiar with him, if I sent you a CD of his songs you would say "Oh yes, I know that song!"  He has been creating music for years, everything from "Dressed Up Like Nebraska", to "Winter in the Hamptons", to "1972".  And one of my favorites, "Sunshine", which he played on Saturday night, to my joy and delight.

His newest CD, 'El Turista" was the focus of the evening, with old favorites thrown in. Three of his four band members are from Valenica, Spain-and it was a delight to watch them play together.

My only complaint was that there was no dance floor.  I had to be content to chair dance, and do a lot of swaying and toe tapping (much to Charlie's embarrassment).  But Josh, Josh, Josh.  You were everything I had hoped for.  You played two sets, and we even got you back for an encore.  A Saturday night very well spent.  Come back soon!

(Mike took the pictures, they were fine with him snapping away without a flash, but they did stop him from making a movie for me-dang.)