This Really is Music City

A few weeks ago a large group of us went to see Guster and Ray LeMontagne at the Ryman. Beforehand, I didn't know too much about Guster (but have since listened to their latest cd, Ganging Up on the Sun, compulsively. Thanks Lara.), but was very much looking forward to Ray, since I was a big fan of his cd, Trouble.
It was a very good show all around, with some drama right in the middle. Much has been discussed elsewhere about Ray's panty-wadded exit, so I won't go into any details. According to his Myspace page this has happened in Baltimore, Indy, and elsewhere, so it wasn't just an annoying Nashville crowd. Dan's take on the whole deal was pretty much the best I've read on the subject. However, since his treastise came in the form of a long-deleted e-mail you don't get to read it. It was spot on, though.
Then, last Sunday I went to perhaps one of the best club shows I've ever seen: Josh Ritter at 3rd and Lindsley. Club show audiences in Nashville are notoriously annoying and loud (Ray could not tolerate), however Ritter pretty much completely captivated the audience. A very very quiet song, "Idaho", is just a softly picked acoustic guitar and him singing just above a whisper. The amazing thing was the complete attention of the crowd, with a rapt silence that would have made The Bluebird jealous. Ritter is a terrific songwriter; go iTune his music. I like his first major cd, Golden Age of Radio, the best. But they are all good.
Next up in live-music world, Nickel Creek back at the Ryman. I've never seen them live, but I'll bet they make a more graceful exit than Ray.