Chris O'Brien (4/20/09)

I FINALLY got to see Chris O'Brien. I've been listening to his Lighthouse album since 5/16/07 (according to my Date Added in iTunes). I always felt he would be an ideal candidate to perform at the Barking Spider, and I was right. You wouldn't believe how excited I was when I saw he was finally coming.

This was also the same night as Travis at the House of Blues, which was the concert that everyone I knew was going to. I've seen Travis before (luckily), so I was all set for a cozy night at the Spider. That was until we got there...

Occasionally at the Spider, you'll find a random group of Case students who are drunkenly unaware that it's also an intimate music venue and that there are people there specifically to listen. It has never been more apparent as on this night. There was a table of law students sitting at a table of empty pitchers and half empty cups. You can imagine they had no sense of personal volume or respect to the artist or music being played. Annoying. They were told several times to be quite, but that never lasted long.

What impressed me the most was how Chris took it in stride. He's a well-versed performer able to adapt to situations that aren't ideal. This night, he was able to corral them into his performance, chat with them and make them all laugh. It made the experience that much better. Luckily they didn't stay for the whole show and we were able to continue listening to Chris' smooth voice, great guitar playing, and wonderful humor. He played stuff from Lighthouse, covers from Bob Dylan and Martin Sexton, as well as some new songs from his forthcoming album... I can't wait to hear it.

I hope he comes back soon.