Concert Sutra Finds A Little Happiness With Aimee Allen

Posted on August 12, 2009 by terri

Concert Sutra Finds A Little Happiness With Aimee Allen

by terri sapp

Photographs by Leah Yetter

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

click photos for photo gallery

Even though Leah and I were stuck at the door with Press hold ups, and conflicting start times, we could hear “Change In Weather,” one of my favorite songs from Aimee Allen’s recent album “A Little Happiness,” booming from the doors of the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia. On August 12, 2009, Aimee Allen was the perfect choice to get the people going for the headlining act, Sugar Ray. When we finally made it to the stage, the band was playing “Crazy,” which is a great mix of Rock and Reggae. The harmonies between the band and Aimee were right on! The crowd was thin, but the band rocked it out. Jen Stone (from Nashville) played the keys and sang her heart out, and what a fine voice she has…the perfect companion for Aimee’s beautiful voice. Even though there were not as many people at the Variety Playhouse at this time of the night, you would never have known it from the performance given from these guys and gals. The people who missed this missed something quite special. Aimee Allen’s voice and style is an extremely appealing mix of rocker chick and chanteuse. Despite her troubles in life (a devastating break up with former boyfriend and band mate, weathering the music industry shuffle, and getting beaten within an inch of her life by gang members), she exudes positivity in her show, evidenced during the audience participation in “On Vacation.” One would have thought she was playing to a full house. Having Will from Atlanta on the bass did not hurt at all either. He was a hoot and a holler! We also had a special moment when Aimee (from Los Angeles) said, “Ya’ll” for the first time when she was so thrilled that we sang along, we got a “Thank ya’ll!” Adam White and Scott Russo (former boyfriend, of Unwritten Law and Scott and Aimee) are both from Indiana, making this group very “multi-cultural” as promised from our gorgeous front-woman. This is always an acceptable quality to bring to Atlanta! Continue reading →

Concert Sutra Attracts to Tori Amos’ Sin

Posted on July 27, 2009 by terri

Concert Sutra Attracts to Tori Amos’ Sin

by terri sapp

Photographs by Leah Yetter and terri sapp

© Concert Sutra, All Rights Reserved

click photos for photo gallery

Tori Amos is another of those Concert Sutra favorites that we always try to see whenever we can! Until this tour at ChastainParkon July 27, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia, we had found that photo passes were nearly impossible to obtain for our girl Leah to be able to shoot photos with her major equipment of the lady! Somehow at the last minute, and with the help on my fancy new iPhone, we were able to procure ourselves access with Leah’s photo equipment for only the first song! Now, that is not much time, but we will take it!!! The photographers were also asked to position themselves back by the sound board (where Tori’s husband was running sound again), which was even behind where we were sitting. Thank goodness for Leah’s awesome huge telephoto lens! We had Ginger with us, who was a Tori show virgin, so we felt that was a good omen for us. To view Leah’s photos (and a few from my little Canon Elph), please either visit this link to our photo gallery: http://www.concertsutra.com/090727cstoriamos/ or click any of the photos within the story that are linked directly to the gallery.

Tori opened up with “Give” from the current touring album, Abnormally Attracted to Sin, which is a dark sounding song with an awesome vocal part. It is hard to think of a Tori Amos joint without an awesome vocal track. One of the things I like the most about Amos, evident in “Give,” is that as many songs as she has released, they all have their own personality and charm. Tori, like most artists, has her own sound, but I never find myself thinking the songs all sound the same. I know I am not alone when I say that Tori was on fire at this show. As always, Matt Chamberlain (drums) and Jon Evans (bass) rattled the Chastain Amphitheatre with their musical magic.

“Siren” from the Great Expectations soundtrack was written specifically for the movie, and played for us at Chastain. What a special treat! From Under the Pink, and an old favorite, “Cornflake Girl” is always welcomed by my ears. It never gets old. Like many of her classics, she always seems to give them a different spin live. I realized when writing this piece that I have actually attended every tour Tori has come around with since her third! My first show was her first tour with the band, and I have loved seeing them ever since! I can’t imagine not seeing one of Concert Sutra’s favorite drummers, Matt Chamberlain at least every couple of years. There have been tours when she left them at home, but having the boys adds so much depth to her always deep songs. I have also noticed a pattern in many of these tours of running into the same familiar faces… Kendra Triesenberg, Rhett Thomas, and Caitlin Glennon (not necessarily together) being the regulars. Continue reading →

Concert Sutra Sees Fireworks From 311

Posted on July 4, 2009 by terri

Concert Sutra Sees Fireworks From 311

by terri sapp

Photographs by Leah Yetter

click photos for photo gallery

On July 4, 2009 at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia, Nick Hexum, Tim Mahoney, SA Martinez, Chad Sexton, and P-Nut celebrated Independence Day with me, Leah, and thousands of screaming fans. I love when Leah is available to take the photos, because she always gets such wonderful shots! Her work is so beautiful, I have to start by directing you to check out the 2009 photo gallery here: http://www.concertsutra.com/090704311cs/. Her photos are fantastic! It makes me even sadder at the thought that she will be going to Wyoming very shortly. I am going to miss her very much, especially at the 311 shows!!! At last year’s show, I was just out of a major back surgery, but now, I have had an extra year to heal, and feel even more ready to party and dance! Ziggy Marley opened up the show, and being Bob Marley’s DNA, he always gives me a thrill! In addition to many amazing Ziggy Marley solo originals like “Love Is My Religion,” “Still The Storms,” “Be Free,” “True To Myself,” and “Black Cat,” as well as Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers’ gems like “Look Who’s Dancin’,” he also blessed us with many Bob Marley covers including “Roots, Rock, Reggae,” “Africa Unite,” “Jammin’” (one of my all time favs!), and “Is This Love?!!”

311 began their set with a “3-11, 3-3-11” Intro, then right into “Never Ending Summer” from their latest album, Uplifter. A great new song to set the tone for a special 4^th of July show. “Beautiful Disaster” continues the show with perfect energy! Another reason I really love when Leah is at the 311 show with me to take the photos is because during the beginning of the show, I get to enjoy the music!! With disco style lights, and all of the re-mix fixins, “All Re-Mixed Up” continues getting the party started. Keeping it going, 311 brings me my favorite from their newest album, “Mix It Up!” This song rocks, and has sweet lyrics. I adore rockin’ love songs! SA and Nick’s harmonies also melt my heart. After “Mix It Up,” Nick says people have asked him if the reference to Little 5 Points in the song “Never Ending Summer” is about Atlanta. He says, “Hell yeah, it is! This is our home away from home!!!” A shout out to Ziggy Marley, and then “Come Original!” I always dance to this one. Not enough artists come original these days! I am always a sucker for a reggae beat, especially mixed with rock and roll! Another great song from Uplifter, “It’s Alright” keeps the energy high. When Uplifter first came out, I listened to it a few times all the way through, and found a few tracks that stood out as ones that I couldn’t wait to hear what they did with them live. As usual, 311 does not disappoint! Ever since the first 311 album, I have never heard one I did not like. Uplifter is no different, and over time, the whole album grew on me, and I couldn’t wait to hear all of the tracks played in concert! Continue reading →

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Concert Sutra Finds A Little Happiness With Aimee Allen