The house concert phenomenon is not very well known outside of die-hard music fan circles. The concept is simple. Fans open their houses to host touring artists and other fans for intimate, usually acoustic concerts. I’ve attended several and am in the process of becoming a regular host of them.
Find out about my first one and get a tease for the next one after the jump.
The Math
There’s really no downside to a house concert. It’s a winning formula all around.
Artists build and strengthen their fan base. They also usually make a nice amount of coin, especially considering they aren’t splitting it with promoters or anyone else. And it’s a chance to rework some of their songs in a different setting.
Fans get to see the performers they love from a few feet away in an intimate setting they wouldn’t normally have access to. They also get to socialize with other music aficionados in a relaxed environment.
And for the host, I can only speak for myself. I definitely get an ego boost from being the organizer of a fun activity for friends and strangers. And you get the same thrill as the other fans. But as the host and homeowner, there’s something more than that. During the first song of my first house concert I was struck by the fact that every note played and sung would be part of my house’s history forever. I can’t wait to add more coats of musical paint to my walls.
The Curtain Opens: ellipsis
In June of last year, my friend’s acoustic folk/bluegrass/pop outfit ellipsis christened the bow of the good ship Cline Compound. It ended up being primarily friends in attendance, but as a dry run, it could not have gone any better.
The acoustics were fabulous. This showcased the entire band’s musicianship harmonies and lead singer Vale Jokisch’ vocals. If her voice were a food, it would be warm drawn butter and your ears would be chunks of lobster meat.
The crowd was entertained and the band were professionals enough to ignore the dropping of the bottles and whatnot.
I enjoyed it so much, I’ve waited over a year for concert #2. Which leads me to…
The Tease
You can check out this post for all the details, but New West (home of Old 97s, Drive-By Truckers, and um, Scott Weiland) recording artist, Americana singer/songwriter, and easy-on-the-eyes-and-ears Tim Easton will be performing at the Cline Compound this Monday, July 27th.
If you’re interested, check out the post I linked to above, or email us at thepopcorntrick@gmail.com.
If you want to join a Facebook Group that will notify you of future shows, go here.
The Multimedia
Here are 6 of the songs that they did that magical night. Lest you think I live my non-blogging life in black & white, the original video looked really bad until my roommate and videographer Shane converted them. They look a thousand times better.
If this isn’t enough for you, you can check out all 18 songs here.
Originals | Covers |
| ellipsis House Concert - "Rolling Stone and Scientist" (2 of 18) | |
| ellipsis House Concert - "Don't Cry (Guns n' Roses)" (17 of 18) |
2 comments:
The Damien Rice cover is actually "Volcano." Sounds great
Thanks for the correction Mikey. Too bad it wasn't "The Blower's Daughter".
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