Tag Archives: The Blue door

Concerts

Jamie Lin Wilson Killed it Live at The Blue Door

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I’ve been trying to go to more live shows all year, and just last week, after seeing Jason Boland, Mike McClure, and Cody Canada in an acoustic song swap, I noted that I’d covered seven shows already this year on the way to the goal of twelve–but I’d only covered one woman, Courtney Patton. This was certainly not intentional, but it did seem weird to me looking back, considering I do listen to a lot of women artists and feature them all the time on this site. But this is how it happened, and I was hoping to find some more women to support live. Then, on Friday, (6/29_, at around 5 PM, I saw Jamie Lin Wilson’s tweet that she’d made it to Oklahoma City in a borrowed van and would be playing The Blue Door that night. So with only three hours’ notice, I went; I’ve seen her before, but never as a headliner, and I knew it would be a good show and a cool thing to write about.

As I say, I’ve seen Jamie Lin Wilson live before–this actually was the fourth time after twice at Medicine Stone and once opening for Turnpike. She also graciously did an interview with me two years ago at Medicine Stone, and among other things, she talked about how many women artists shine in listening rooms, as opposed to in arenas and at festivals where alcohol and partying are driving factors. She proved this true in her own case, as although she was great on the main stage that first year, she seemed to bring something even more special to the smaller, more intimate stage on which she performed in 2017. The Blue Door, as I’ve noted before, is great for songwriters like this, offering something unique and intimate and frankly unparalleled. It’s listening rooms like this one where you feel like you’re just chilling with the artist, where everything feels informal and personal.

What Jamie Lin Wilson has that sets her apart from many songwriters, both men and women, who thrive in these types of venues is stage presence and charisma. She’s happy joking with her band and with the crowd, ruining the joke of why the chicken crossed the road, teasing her electric guitar player about borrowing all of her stuff in order to actually come on the road and play for her, and telling us about the line dancers in France that are obsessed with one of Courtney Patton’s early songs. But between all these lighthearted, fun moments, she’s got songs with such depth of feeling, like the bittersweet “Dusty Shoes” or the resigned “Just Like Heartache.” I’ve seen her do this song before, but I am always amazed by her version of Tom Petty’s “Room at the Top.” She worked in some Trishas songs as well, like “Little Sweet Cigars” and the closer, “drive.”

And yes, we did hear some songs from the new album coming out in October. She commented that she observed a lot for this record, just watched things happen around her and wrote them down. We heard a song about her daughter’s reaction watching the clouds pass over during the first cold front and another inspired by her friend who gets philosophical and poetic whenever he drinks too much. I’m so happy to hear that she recorded “Oklahoma stars,” a song I fell in love with last September at Medicine Stone. Evan Felker of the Turnpike Troubadours wrote the last verse, and Turnpike recorded it on their latest album. Everyone knows my obsession with Turnpike, but if you read that review, you also know I didn’t like their version of this song. It’s probably a biased opinion because I had Jamie Lin’s in my head already and an idea of what it should sound like, but I had been really looking forward to the song and then found it to be the only track I didn’t like on the Troubadours’ record. I still love Jamie Lin’s version, and I can’t wait to hear it on the new album.

I’ve been blessed in 2018 with not having been to a bad show, and i try to keep these little pieces positive anyway, not like formal reviews so much as spotlights of cool live music. That said, Jamie Lin Wilson’s show has definitely been one of the highlights of the whole series. And in the bigger picture, where the spirit of this whole exercise has been to support live music itself, her voice and these songs offer something in a live setting that can’t be found in the studio. I feel like a broken record saying that in so many of these pieces, but damn it, it just keeps being proven to me time and time again.

Best Live Songs: “Dusty Shoes,” “Room at the Top,” “Little Sweet Cigars,” “Just Like Heartache,” “Oklahoma stars,” “Whistling”

Concerts

Celebrating Courtney Patton’s Record Release Live at The Blue Door

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So, continuing with the 2018 resolution to take in more live music, I returned to The Blue Door Sunday (2/18), to see Courtney Patton and help celebrate the release of her excellent new record, What it’s Like to Fly Alone. Now, I’ve talked about this venue a lot–and yes, the next concert I have in mind will likely be somewhere else–but I cannot emphasize enough the uniqueness of it, the BYOB policy that has people cracking beers from their ice chests in the middle of songs, the way Courtney can ask us if anyone brought any whiskey for her throat and have someone walk up onstage to hand it to her, etc.

Of course, just like John Baumann earlier this year and Jason Eady last year, Courtney Patton is an artist who thrives in this kind of setting. Jamie Lin Wilson once said to me, in relation to women filling smaller venues than men in general, that “Courtney Patton’s thoughtful, beautiful songs that make people cry” wouldn’t make someone put down a pitcher of beer and go listen. She meant that an artist like Courtney Patton shines in a small listening room like this, where people come to listen to a show–and yes, drink some beer from their ice chest–rather than to drink and hear some music in the background.

I’ve learned something unique from each live performance this year, and I’ve tried to keep these posts focused on that, making them lighter and shorter than actual reviews. After all, this 2018 exercise is more about the merits of live music in general than any one particular artist. With Patton, there were two things that stood out, one being how much you can come to appreciate songs live after hearing the stories behind them. The title track from the new record is a great example of this. Courtney told the story of how, one night after a bad show in Austin that had her calling Jason Eady, her husband, crying and threatening to quit music altogether, a hawk flew from out of nowhere and nearly hit her car. She decided it was God telling her to calm down, go home, and rethink everything. She wrote a metaphorical song about her and that hawk. That song means so much more to me now, even as someone who enjoyed it on the album. But hearing her tell the story and explain the inspiration just added a whole new level of depth to the verses about the hawk. She also talked about “Open flame,” how the opening line was inspired by her daughter after they were dancing near a burning candle on the coffee table; Courtney suggested, “Let’s not dance around an open flame,” and her daughter told her that sounded like a country song. It became an “almost-cheatin’ song,” as she says, on her new record.

The other thing about Courtney Patton was the way she handled messing up the lyrics to a song; indeed, people were talking right on the front row, which at The Blue door is pretty much within spitting distance of the artist, and she noted to us that this distracted her, but after calmly saying the opening lines to “Walk Away” incorrectly three times, she just moved on, flipped us all off good-naturedly, and skipped that song completely. I respect that a lot. It’s not about the mistakes you make; rather, it’s how you deal with them and move on, and Courtney Patton handled that situation admirably.

In short, this was another great show. As I say, I’m not really in the business of reviewing live stuff per se, but Courtney Patton is certainly another artist I’d recommend seeing live. It’s been a good journey so far in 2018, and I can’t wait to share more live music experiences with you all.

Best Live Songs: “What it’s Like to Fly Alone (Hawk Song),” “Round Mountain,” “Fourteen Years,” “Red Bandanna Blue,” and her cover of Gene watson’s “Fourteen Carat Mind”

P.S. Courtney, if you read this, I think I speak for everyone at The Blue Door when I say that you owe us a cover of “Night Moves.”

Concerts

Some Thoughts on Seeing John Baumann Live at The Blue Door

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My 2018 live music New Year’s resolution continued on Friday, (Jan. 19th), when I had the opportunity to see John Baumann live at The Blue Door, a great little listening room in Oklahoma City. I reviewed a Jason Eady show there last April, and I was excited to return to the venue.

I hadn’t known beforehand that this would be an acoustic show, but in a room like this, and with songwriting like that of Baumann, this turned out to be a very welcome thing. It became a really cool, intimate performance. Some of his songs are actually even better suited for this type of show. “Turquoise,” for example, already a highlight of his latest record Proving Grounds, actually sounded better stripped back with just the vocals and acoustic guitars. It takes a certain caliber of songwriting to be able to pull off this type of thing without it becoming “samey,” and John Baumann’s certainly qualifies.

But it wasn’t all the slow, thoughtful numbers you might expect from a show like this. There were nice lighter moments in songs like ‘bible Belt,” a story of growing up in the South and the first song Baumann says he felt like they wrote, and “Holding it Down,” a fun ode to Texas that he remarked should have been taken off the set list for a show in Oklahoma. There were also many breaks for humorous stories, like the inevitable butchering of his last name by concert promoters and his band’s fondness for puzzles. That ability to engage with the audience is great in any live setting, but it especially works at The Blue Door and listening rooms like it because in a small, intimate setting like this, it’s like John Baumann’s just gotten out his guitar and started performing in your living room. And why wouldn’t the guy performing informally in your living room take some breaks to talk about puzzles and Farkle?

I’ve seen two very different shows in two very different settings so far this year, and each one offered unique things to appreciate about live music. I’m only two into what will hopefully be at least twelve shows this year, but I’m already finding a deeper appreciation for the art of live music from these artists. Thanks, John Baumann, for another great live show to add to my 2018 concert series.

Best Live Acoustic Songs: “Turquoise,” “Here I Come,” “Bible Belt,” “Midland”

Concerts

So Yeah, Put Seeing Jason Eady Live at the Top of Your List

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So I had the opportunity to see Jason Eady at his album release show Friday in OKC at a cool little listening room called The Blue door, and I thought it was worth highlighting here.

This is indirectly going to be an endorsement of the blue door as well as Jason Eady because in order to explain the intimacy of this setting, I have to explain The Blue door. It’s known as “the best listening room in Oklahoma,” and that’s what you’re getting–it’s not a bar or a club or something where they play some live music and you get some drinks and maybe dance, it’s a room that holds about a hundred people, and it’s made for, yeah, listening. IN fact, this listening room is well-known as a “BYOB establishment,” and it’s perfectly normal to see people walking into The Blue door with ice chests and YETI cups. But it’s this laidback, intimate atmosphere that really lets Jason Eady’s mellow, thoughtful type of songwriting shine.

That’s not to say the whole night was mellow and laidback. In fact, much of it was quite upbeat, from the opener, “drive” from Eady’s new record to older songs like “Go Down Moses and “Back to Jackson.” But it’s in a setting like this where songs like “Barabbas” and “Black Jesus” really hit you, and where you can hear all the personal implications for Jason in songs like “Not Too Loud” and “Forty Years.” Eady told us he’d do every song on his new self-titled album, and he delivered, along with quite a few older ones from other albums and covers of Guy Clark and Merle Haggard. He even ended the night with a bluegrass song completely stripped down and allowing the listening room to fully live up to its name because, as Eady stated, “not every place is like this.” at that point, it wasn’t like he was on a stage singing for us; it was pretty much like Jason Eady was just sitting around in the living room with his guitar, and we were all singing along together.

I don’t want to speak too much about this or get into a long review, as it were, it’s just something I had to write about because you have to make it a point to see Jason Eady if you can. I can’t really pick a highlight of the night either, and that’s simply because the entirety of it was that brilliant. This is one of the best live music experiences you will be giving yourself, and I have to say I’m thankful to be here in Oklahoma where it will probably be easier to see him again. And while we’re on the subject, I’m going back to The Blue door too because let me tell you, that is one of Oklahoma’s best-kept secrets.