Line of Best Fit

Joshua James @ Newby's (Memphis, TN)

Joshua James played at Newby's in Memphis, TN this past Saturday night.  I was disappointed in the number of people that showed up for it, but it didn't affect the show that Joshua put on.  His acoustic set was made up mostly of songs off of his album The Sun Is Always Brighter and a couple of new ones.  The live version of these songs sounded as good as they do on the album, and Joshua's unique voice also sounded great live.  His tour will continue with him doing a few solo shows, and then he will be opening for Erin McKeown through October.  You can get the complete tour schedule at his Myspace page.  If you have a chance to see Joshua live, go see him.  He is a talented artist that puts on a great show.  I've posted a couple of videos that I made during the show, as well as, the audio rips from them.  The video quality is not the best, but the audio turned out really well.  If you want to hear more of Joshua's music check out the post that I did on him back in March.

Official Site - Myspace - iTunes - Buy The Sun Is Always Brighter

[mp3] Joshua James - Lord, Devil, and Him (live)

[mp3] Joshua James - Dangerous (live)

Joshua James - Lord, Devil, and Him

Joshua James - Dangerous

Damien Rice @ The Orpheum (Memphis, TN)

I got to see Damien Rice last week at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN.  I've been a fan of Damien's since his debut album O, and have been looking forward to seeing his live show.  I was a little disappointed when I heard that Lisa Hannigan and Vyvienne Long would not be on this part of the tour with him, but Damien more than made up for their absence.  The combination of Damien's fantastic guitar work and vocals, and the atmosphere of the Orpheum Theatre made for a show that is one of the best that I've seen.  He played almost the entire album of 9, and about half of O.  Since this was the last show on this leg of the tour, Damien and the band were in a relaxed mood.  He joked with the crowd in between songs, and he even took requests.  The requested songs that he played were "Eskimo", "Bottom Shelf", and "9 Crimes."  At the end of the show, he brought out the members of the road crew for a couple of songs; "Suspicious Minds" and "Twist and Shout."  About thirty minutes after the show, people that had stuck around the Orpheum were invited backstage to an after party with the band and crew.  Those at the party said that Damien played three songs for them; "Amie", "Cold Water", and "Hallelujah".  After a summer/fall tour in Europe, Damien plans to be back in the US.  If he comes anywhere close, you need to catch his show.  Below are some of the videos from the Memphis show that are posted on YouTube.       

Official Site - Myspace Page - iTunes - Pictures From Concert
Listen to Damien Rice's Music @ The Hype Machine