Rave OnI am finishing my dissertation this year. I am exhausted most of the time, because I gotta work hard to finish on time and don't like the idea of not going out and keep having fun, so that being said, I am really surprised I didn't fall sleep two nights ago when I saw
M. Ward playing most of his new album
Hold Time plus some of his oldies and covers.
I am a fan of the new album. It doesn't reach of the addictiveness his previous masterpiece
Post-War reached with me, but still it has been on constant rotation on my iPod, car and stereo at home, especially when I am working on that dissertation to get done.
M. Ward came out solo with his acoustic guitar to a dark stage with a window view in the back announcing the night has just started. He started with the song that titles his new album, and of course it was beautiful. His band quickly joined him and they played
Lullabye + Exile and the crowd favorite
Chinese Translation. With that out of the way, he went back to hold some more time for us... firs on the guitar with
Epistemology and then on the piano for the wonderful
To Save Me. One of my very favorite songs from
Post-War was played that night. It's the song that titles that album.
Post-War doesn't expose
M. Ward's virtuosity on the guitar, but his warm vocals, and with a supporting live band so-delicate-when-it-must-be like the one he has right now, the song made my eyes to water.
The night went on and
M. Ward's guitar shined on
Fisher of Men even more than the fireflies that started showing up through the window. His vocals sounded great again for his cover of
Oh Lonesome Me (no
Lucinda Williams) and so did the band for the
Never Had Nobody Like You (no
Zooey Deschanel).
For being tired I remember a lot, don't I? He played more songs from
Post-War, including
Poison Cup and my very favorite ones
Magic Trick and his cover of
Daniel Johnston's
To Go Home, the new
Rave On, which sounded ridiculously good live with a full band,
Vincent O'Brien, another crowd favorite from
Transfiguration of Vincent, and a couple of covers that I do not know apparently just because I didn't grow up here.
M. Ward might be the only artist playing countryish music that can keep me awake for seventeen or so songs. It was a good show but not everything was great. I have a couple of complains even though I was to tired to be too bothered about them. No
Stars of Leo? Come on! That's the best song on
Hold Time! And what's wrong with the speakers at the Apollo Theater? [
photos of the show]
Were you at the show? How did you like it?
M. Ward Links:
Stream Hold Time,
Stream Post-War,
Official Website,
Wikipedia,
MySpace,
at Merge Records
