Rachael YamaGREATa

One of the opening bands said she might as well be called Rachael Yamagreata...and as cheesy at it was...that made me laugh so hard!

Seriously, Rachael Yamagata's performance Saturday night left me in awe and begging for more. My first time seeing her with the Hotel Cafe tour, I could have left before the encore and been perfectly content. As you may recall, I wasn't very impressed with it...but this time...I was stunned back into place.

The bands came in from Denver, and ran a little behind...but it gave me the opportunity to get to know my date...so I was cool with the 'lateness' factor. The stage was awesome. Decorated in silk flowers, some that lit up and some that were display only...I couldn't help but already have a sense for how the concert was going to be. I laughed a little thinking about the bands she was touring with and if they really cared that the decor was all very girly.

Though the first band couldn't make it, Spencer from (insert band name here *I forgot) played some of his fave tunes. His style was a mix of Jack Johnson and John Mayer. He couldn't rock all the way without his band, but I felt his enthusiasm.

The second opening band - or rather dude (s), totally wowed me! In fact, the first song hit me so hard that I teared up! I know I have already confessed that I am a Weeper, but it struck a chord with me...(no pun intended-he was playing the piano). Greg Laswell-will you marry me? His deep vocals sent me into shock....but even more when he hit those high notes. I almost forgot about my date ;) and almost ran onto the stage to hold Greg in my arms, at which point, I am sure I would have said, "Baby, just dedicate this next song to me...and I will be fine." Greg joked around that he had a dream once that his grandma came to him and said that he needs to start writing happy songs. So, in attempting to follow those words of wisdom, he wrote a song about the visitation, which started off being happy, but all in all with some minor chords mixed in with some melancholy timing...ended up being quite sad. In between his songs he thanked Rachael for letting him bring his silk flowers to adorn the stage. He was so cute....and I got to meet him!! I felt like a giddy school girl trying to play it cool, but totally coming off weird. Here is one of my fave tunes:



Then Rachael came on. She was so cute in her black dress and totally rocked! She began with a song that we all knew "Be Be Your Love." We cheered and cheered and wanted more. When she switched from the piano to the guitar...she rocked it! Her band was pretty remarkable. I was totally impressed with their onstage presence. So much more than the last time I saw her. Mid-concert, she switched it back to the band that was finally able to show up...Spencer's Band...Wiggly something, or Aqua something...I really just don't remember. There was some banter back and forth...and then Spencer rocked it with the girl bass chick, and wirey-little drummer. Then Rachael came back on and rocked her little heart out. I wanted my date to like her so much...just like me, so I kept making sure he had expression, which he didn't...but after a while, I kind of forgot that I wasn't by myself. My poor date.

When Rachael came back on for the encore, she did two songs, and the crowd went crazy! She started her last song and invited people on to the stage to perform with her. She got two teenage girls who rocked the harmony. With a couple of encouraging expletives...they went through the whole song, repeating the chorus a couple times. She seemed quite impressed. Very non-karaoke..it was awesome!

Here is one music video from her:



Um, highly recommended. Look them up.

Rachael Yamagata
Greg Laswell