2/20/10 - Paul Banks, The Young Republic, Lindsay Rae Spurlock

...at the Cavern.

Lindsay Rae Spurlock (Austin) opened. Loved her. Quirky, catchy piano pop, great voice, plus she's a hot. Great stuff.
The Young Republic (Tennessee) was up next. To my ear, it was completely ordinary bluegrass. Not that they weren't good at it - they were - but there was absolutely nothing distinguishable about it. My opinion only.

Postscript: I have been informed by an oh-so-courteous member of TYR that bluegrass is, in fact, NOT one of the genres they play. So screw me. Disregard my comments entirely - I obviously don't know enough about that side of the fence, or I just wasn't paying enough attention. They also sent me their new album, Balletesque, so I could listen to them in better surroundings, which I thought was super-cool of them.
Paul Banks and the Carousels headlined. Paul's first album (self-titled) is still one of my absolute favorites, and I always try to catch him when he comes to town. Loved him, as usual.

3/22/09 - Paul Banks, Quote

went to the effin cavern for an early sunday show. really appreciate them doin that sort of thing for us 9-to-5 folks. HOWEVER, if you put on your website that you're gonna start at 8:30, then godammit, start at 8:30!! we (myself and the illustrious green-eyed greek gal) got there at 8:30, only to catch the last few bars of The Subjects' set. which pissed me off to no end, since i was intrigued by what i heard on myspace. i mean - wtf? you're gonna start EARLY? before the advertised start time?? goddam cavern. so, great start to the evening.

Quote, from Nashville, was up next. Two dudes, both on acoustic guitar. Nice harmonies. Some decent folky acoustic pop, but nothing that really grabbed me. I was there to see the genius of Paul Banks, from austin. i saw him a couple of times a couple years ago, and fell in love with his music (see this), and i'd been waiting and waiting for him to come back. my buddy Joe the Boy Toy, a fellow PB fanatic, was there also, with his lovely ladyfriend.

unfortunately, i don't really remember much of paul's set. i'm afraid i over-indulged - either that, or someone slipped me a roofie, cuz i spent the rest of the show in a semi-catatonic state on the couch in the back (thank gawd the GREGG was driving). i do remember thinking a couple of times, "hey, i know that song", but that's about it. soory. Joe assures me that, despite the fact that paul's voice was a bit weak after all the SXSW shows (for which he apologized), it was an awesome set. it was a stripped down version of the band - only Paul and one other - so it wasn't the rockin show i saw before, but we were assured he would be coming back soon with the full band. be sure to catch that if you can - this guy is truly awesome.

9/29/07 - Paul Banks, Last Gasp

started out at lucky's roadhouse again, this time the joint was empty (no more $.25 drinks, eh?). went back to car to, uh, fetch something and stepped in ankle-deep mud pit behind lucky's. in sandles. shee-ut. got to use bathroom at cavern for somethin besides pukin', tho. heh heh. joe finally showed up. missed first band - no loss, based on their myspace/purevolume. went back and forth from cavern to lucky's between bands, watchin mr. q make time with ultra-wasted a&m drop-out chick (that's right, darlin, i graduated in '98) who's name we forgot but had bachelorette-party gal friends with s&m gear. how does he do it? must be his stylin' shirts. anyways, the show:

paul banks - this man is a musical genius. listen to his cd - i dare you to disagree. the next rufus wainwright, i tell ya. amazing voice, as i've said before. fantastic songwriting. wish he had closed with "color", instead of sam cooke/beatles/bowie medley. both songs show off his pipes, i just think it's best to close with your own material, especially when it's so goddam strong.

the last gasp - 2nd time to see. excellent, as before. loved the harmonies from the keyboardist. really enjoyed the set. met christian afterwards - super nice guy, gave me their demo cd.

a pacific model - 3rd time to see. some songs in definite radiohead territory, some more ordinary. powerful lead vox. Cure cover - bleh.

pretty good crowd at the cavern, which means the usual annoying louder-than-the-band chatter and scuse-me scuse-me as people try to get to the bar. was entertained by preternaturally short dude with pony tail and goatee makin time with the ladies, or was that his 50-something sugar daddy boyfriend behind him pretending to groove to the music? i don't know, i should be nicer.