Saturday, August 14, 2010

Talent, pure and simple: The Mother Truckers

Stop the presses: we went out last night.  We were actually not tucked into bed at 10pm, instead were sitting at 19 Broadway in Fairfax, waiting for The Mother Truckers to take the stage.  Crazily, we got there around 9 -- don't know how we forgot that bands, unless otherwise noted, never go on that early, so we had about 2 hours of sitting together, watching the place fill up, remarking how we knew no one except Nancy Zee, the guitar-player Josh's mom, who was Laurent's kindergarten teacher.

I consider myself a Mother Truckers fan, but I'm clearly not a super-fan since, like last time we saw them, probably a bit more than a year ago, I can't hang in for two sets and have to leave at the break.  Early yoga the next day will always push me out the door by midnight, priorities ya know.  But really, I'll go out any night of the week, foregoing sleep and quiet, to hear Teal Collins sing.  Every time I am so moved and amazed by the music that pours out of her mouth.  Like a dork, I sometimes have to fight back tears - it's just so damn thrilling to watch and hear someone sing with such total commitment, force and beauty.

Without my usual posse there, I definitely felt like a fish out of water last night.  I was jostled and elbowed and pushed around by lame drunk guys who were more interested in taking pictures of themselves and their girlfriends with the band as background (look, here's proof of how much fun we have!) than in rocking out to the band.  I got to the point where I was about to say, "you touch me one more time, m-f, and it's on," when I realized it was time for me to go.  A bar is the right place for lame drunk guys.  I was the one who didn't belong.

No matter, I'm delighted I went.  I love this band.  They're all such solid, talented performers.  I can't hear Josh play without thinking of LT's early-childhood love for Protein, Josh's pre-MT band, the sound of his voice singing along in the car to every song on the first album.  There's a sweetness that always comes through the music for me, and am just in awe of what happens when talent meets drive.

So good!  check it out:

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