Us and Hem

I wasn't as enthusiastic as Jamye about going to last night's Hem show at Exit/In. In fact, I teased her about going home to watch the Olympics right up until the moment we walked into the venue. It was a small crowd, but as the handful of tables were all occupied, we headed for the end of the bar closest to the stage.

After suffering through a Tom Waits/Robert Earl Keene/John Prine knockoff from Minnesota named Ben Weaver, the four piece band we had paid to see ambled onto the stage. After two songs, the band's frontwoman, Sally Elyson (who sounds like Joan Baez without the corncob) implored the crowd to pull their tables and chairs closer to the stage as there was a ridiculous (although typical for the Exit/In) gulf between the stage and the first landing where the tables had been set up. With the kind of quick efficiency that should be reserved for fire drills, most of the crowd complied.

I must say, it was an excellent set that had the crowd rapt. Despite the one or two moronic girls shouting requests at the stage, our failure to get out of another concert without someone yelling "Freebird," and making us wait until the encore to hear our favorite songs, we left the Exit/In satisfied that we had heard a show where the band had enough faith in their talents to not comprimise their sound for more popularity. Actually, it was quite a shame that a band that so effortlessly fuses folk, country and pop stylings couldn't draw a larger crowd here in Music City, U.S.A. It just shows to go ya.

Postscript: Before I log off here, I do need to mention their cover of a classic old tune that I believe is still in the pantheon of my Dad's favorite songs. He (and anybody else) can download a live version of it by clicking here. Also, you can check out their albums and a brief bio on iTunes. Just figured out how to make those links. Cool, huh?