Brandi Carlile Album Playback & Acoustic Show

On Saturday night, I and 2800 of my fellow Bramily* members had the joy of attending a one of a kind Brandi Carlile Band show here in Seattle, to get a sneaky preview of her new album, Returning to Myself.

The show was an album playback and acoustic performance, so the only folks on stage were Brandi, the Hanseroth Twins, and Sista Strings, all seated in comfy couches and chairs. It started with playing the album, all the way through. Not performing it, literally playing the record, with Brandi telling stories and talking about the songs in between. We all promised not to share any video or audio from the album that isn't out already (no spoilers!), so I won't talk too much about the songs either, but WOW. I'd never pretend to be some kind of critic who can put a value judgement on art, because it's so subjective, but I loved it. The band is very much firing on all cylinders on this one; it's very personal, and just feels like the most Brandi Carlile Brandi Carlile album to date. It's full of great songs, but I will venture that Human is an instant classic, and Church & State is going to be an ANTHEM.

After we heard the record and related commentary, Brandi took a few questions from the audience, and then the band played an acoustic set, starting with live versions of about half of the new album songs we'd just heard, and proceeding to a few requests from the crowd. All told, we spent a little under 3 hours together, singing, laughing, dancing, and just being filled with joy and excitement, at the end of No Kings day.

 

 

I've been to a couple smaller, fan-only shows like this, and it's always a very different vibe from a regular tour stop, in a great way. I have to assume it's because the artist knows the crowd is going to be completely and totally on their side, so they can let their guard down -- not put any less into the performance, just feel free to relax and have fun on stage. Last night was the same, a unique kind of experience and energy in the room. 

Although (tangent alert!), there was one song that felt very familiar, taking me back to the beginning. Early in my BC fandom, 2003-2004, Brandi didn't yet have a record deal, but she and the Twins had already been hustling in Seattle for years. They had a couple of demo CDs and played regularly around town, so people knew the music, and at that time, the 'hit' was Turpentine. Sure, there were lots of us at the gigs who kept the CDs on repeat and knew all the songs, but Turpentine was the one even the more casual fans could join in on. So when they played it last night, with every person in the room singing along, it was a moment of deja vu. Even though back then the song was faster, harder, more electric guitar forward, and not the melodic, 3 part harmony oh-oh-oh version they do now. Even though back then "it's 6am and I'm all messed up" was only the clean version for the recording, and neither the crowd nor the band were singing 'messed up' in the live version. Even with the clear differences that the years have brought to that familiar song, I felt like I was back standing in a crowded bar, belting it out with the strangers around me, more than 2 decades ago. 

And I couldn't be happier to still be here singing along, or prouder of Brandi and the Twins for what they've accomplished since those early days being the hardest working band in Seattle. 

Buy this album, y'all. I promise you're gonna LOVE it. 

 

*Insofar as fan clubs still exist for grown-ass adults in 2025, you could say the Bramily are Brandi's fan club 

London Calling

Stopped by London for a couple days on the way back from Dublin, because if I'm not there at least twice a year, I don't know what I'm doing with my life.

Maybe a dozen years ago, someone asked me how many times I’d been to London, and I had no idea. It was only a handful of visits back then, but it was still enough that I had lost count. It’s probably my favourite city in the world, so I stop by whenever I’m in the area… or whenever I have an excuse to go for an event… or whenever I’m flying BA and have to change planes at Heathrow anyway… 

Basically, anytime I can find an excuse to be in London, I’m in London.

 

But that usually means I’m just popping by for a day or two in between things, with no time to do anything but meander through the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), eat a kebab, and sleep. So I’m pretty much confined to my usual ‘hood or whatever’s a short ride on the Tube. 

 

And the same was true this time, which included stops at the Moco, the Design & Disability exhibition at the V&A, a little shopping, and lots of walking.

 

London, like all major cities, is a collection of distinct neighbourhoods that all have their own personality. My London ‘hood is South Kensington, completely by accident. Many years ago, I got a great deal on a brand new boutique hotel there, when it was a part of the city I’d never been to before, and not only did I love the hotel, I loved the area. So even after the hotel got established and I couldn’t always afford to stay there – or when the ownership changed, making me no longer like the place -- I still find a spot to stay in South Kensington every visit. The big draw is the nearness of the V&A and Hyde Park, but I also can’t underestimate the benefit of knowing this area better than the rest of London. I’ve got certain stores I always shop in and a regular kebab shop, and I even know which lines run through the local Underground stations and where I can or can't go on them, without having to look at the map.

 

I don’t know if I'd recommend South Kensington to everyone – neighbourhoods have a personality just like people do, and everyone has to figure out for themselves what they're compatible with – but I highly recommend finding your ‘hood when you visit London. Especially if you're like me and not out doing a whole bunch of social things with friends all the time, having a place that feels quite homely* makes it as if you’re wandering around holding hands with the city itself.

 

I can't say what it is that makes a human feel like they belong in a particular place, but I have a few cities that I’ve never really lived in, that feel like home to me anyway. London’s very close to the top of that list. 

 

 

*I'm using the British meaning here, which is 'like home', not the old USian way of saying it's not very attractive.

Britpop in Dublin

So... what did you do last weekend? Oh, nothing much? Watched some TV? Well, I just took a quick little jaunt over to Dublin...

No, really, I went all the way to Ireland for less than 2 days. By the time I got settled into the hotel after my halfway-round-the-world journey Friday night, it was 8pm, and only about 38 hours until I had to catch my lift back to the airport Sunday morning. So that didn't leave me much time to do anything but go to the Robbie Williams Britpop tour stop that had brought me to town. 

I wasn't too worried about missing stuff, though; I visited Dublin back in 2016 with my ex-Scotsman, and we did all the touristy things then. We saw Dublin Castle, walked along the River Liffey and crossed a couple of its bridges (but not the famous Liffey Bridge, which we did walk past, but it was either closed or too busy... or not where we needed to cross... I don't remember), and (obviously) visited the Dublinia Viking and Medieval Museum. 

On that trip, I even dragged the man with no interest in anything more artistic than a football jersey on a trek across town to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. But once we got inside the grounds, we started noticing that most of the doors to exhibit rooms were closed and locked, and no one else was around except a few guys with tools and ladders... and it dawned on us that maybe it was not open that day, and we had just slipped in with the renovation crew. But sadly we weren't equipped to use our accidental sneak entry to pull off the world's greatest Irish art heist, so we just found our way to an exit and went on with our turismo. 

So since I already took in (pretty much) all the things I wanted to see last time, I wasn't particularly motivated to go out for anything other than food on the drizzly, muggy afternoon before the main event. 

Because as it should be, Saturday night was Robbie Williams night in Dublin. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE CRAIC?!*

I overheard a local on our walk to the gig saying that to her friend, and I had to steal it.

WHAT A SHOW!!! Croke Park was completely sold out -- 80,000 people -- with an amazing crowd. People always tell me that Irish audiences are the best, but I had to see it for myself. I've been to around 20 Robbie shows in various locations and never heard such loud singing along, to whole songs, not just the choruses that everyone knows. Rob said near the end that it was the best crowd he'd ever had (sincerely, not just working the audience), and I believe it. 

I have to say that the view was a bit jarring for me at first, because I got a seat this time, after being in the front standing section for the last few shows. Rob's truly the most amazing entertainer, and it doesn't matter if you're pressed up against the stage or in the very back of the stadium, you'll have a great time and feel like he's singing directly to you. But even sitting just a couple rows away from the field, I was pretty far from the stage, and it took a minute to adjust to him looking 3 inches tall, after having gotten used to watching an actual sized Robert. On the plus side, since I couldn't take that many good photos with my limited zoom anyway, it gave me a reason to keep my phone in my pocket and enjoy the moment for once.

The set list was pretty much the same as the London Britpop shows (catchup post coming on that later!), with a couple small changes. This tour's tradition of 2 surprise guests continued -- one to duet on Relight my Fire, and one with their own song -- but they were both Irish folks I didn't know anything about. I did catch that the one who got a gigantic roar of welcome from those in attendance was Garron Noone, who led a rousing singalong version of Take Me Home, Country Roads. Never thought I'd hear a John Denver song at a Robbie Williams gig, but those peanut butter cup ads are on to something: putting two things I love together made me love them both even more!

All in all, it was an incredible night, and I was totally in it, singing, dancing, and grinning, even during my I'm-so-beyond-sick-of-this-stupid-cover-please-never-play-it-again song (I won't say which one that is, but it rhymes with Bees the Fun), and had a spring in my step on the long walk back to my hotel afterward.

So I'd say the quick visit to Dublin was a success. The show was one of a kind, and we really did have the craic... far beyond anything I could have imagined.

 

*If you don't know what the craic is, look it up your own self! Kidding. It's basically Irish for super fun-ness, pronounced like crack.

Welcome Back (Globe)Trotter

 We're back, baby!

I never did get around to starting a Substack, and I'm glad I didn't, but I didn't really start posting again here either... which I'm not so glad about. 

So I'm back now (with an option to get this as a newsletter if that's your bag), picking up where I left off. And committing to keep it updated going forward.

Look, the world is ROUGH right now. Personally, socially, politically, globally, this is very much The Darkest Timeline. And while I pretty much spend all my time, and energy, and thought every day trying to make that better, sometimes I need a break. We all do. We need to take time to do something we love, to laugh, to celebrate life's small adventures. So here I am, trying to do a little of that now and then.

For the next little while, I'll be going back through a bunch of unpublished posts from the last 2 years, and sharing them until I'm all caught up.

But don't worry, there aren't that many catch-up posts out there, I'm skipping a few trips. Like both of my annual pre-Christmas visits to London and Edinburgh, the time I holed up in Stockholm with a terrible cold, and the several days I sat around Palm Springs doing nothing but reading. 

But you will get fun travel stories like this: I was all queued up to catch my flight to Edinburgh (Heathrow loves lining people up early!), when they announced a technical issue. Not boarding, no timeline. But it's the UK, so everyone just stayed in the lineup. A few minutes later, when the gate agent guy came over to give an update, he came and spoke directly to me, about 3/4 of the way back in the queue, too quietly for others to hear, and walked away... Like I was somehow the only one who needed to know. The boss of the line, I guess.

Stay Tuned...

Catching Up: London / BST Hyde Park (Again)

It's been well documented that London is my #1 city, and Robbie Williams is my #1 popstar, so when it was announced that he'd be headlining a night of BST Hyde Park again in July 2024, of course I was there.

I landed at Heathrow on July 4th (because I love spending all the iconic American holidays in foreign lands), to spend a week in London with the Rob show right in the middle, carrying an unexpected bottle of wine in my bag. Along the way I had a chat with the flight attendant about wine, and she recommended a nice Bordeaux that I quite enjoyed, so she gave me a bottle to take with me. Gotta love first class!

Anyway. Aside from the music, I didn't do anything interesting... just a typical few days in my usual London haunts, so on to the show...

As a rule, I hate music festivals, and only Rob can get me to show up to one, even for just a little while. So for BST I did the same as last time and got a ticket that included the 'VIP Garden', giving me a more sparsely populated area to hang out in until I was ready to join the stramash at the front of the stage. I wasn't really interested in anyone playing before the Robbie closing set, so I arrived pretty close to his start time, to avoid awkwardly standing around as a solo VIP, sipping on overpriced beverages. I got there right about the time Seal started playing (the last artist before RW), and listened from the Garden area while I bought a t-shirt and drank a hard cider. I was never that big a fan of Heidi Klum's ex-husband -- I only know those 2 or 3 songs that everyone remembers from the 90s -- but he sounded pretty good from a distance.

When Seal finished and the masses started flooding back into the VIP Garden for the break between performers, I took advantage of the relative sparseness of the crowd to find myself a decent spot in front of the stage. Unfortunately the group of women I ended up standing next to were extremely drunk and kept bumping into everyone, while also being SO LOUD that my right ear hurt from their shouting by the time the show got started. But at the point that I realized I couldn't spend 2 more hours near them, the throngs had returned and I was walled in by humans on all sides. The drunken banshees were also convinced that Kylie Minogue was there as a guest, because they'd heard Kids during the soundcheck and were sure Robbie would never sing it unless she was there. Except that he does, at every show, everywhere, always, with Kylie's parts covered by the backup singers. Since the whole audience couldn't help but overhear, I noticed I wasn't the only one rolling my eyes at their antics.

Then we were given even more time to overhear intoxicated asinine shouting when the show started a bit late, because England had gone to penalties in a knockout game of the Euros, and everyone (most of the crowd, the band, Rob) was watching. So they waited to come on stage until the game finished... which England won, and put everyone in an extra good mood.

Maybe because of the football, or maybe just out of habit, Rob seemed to be having fun, and the performance was great, as always. He mostly did the same set he'd been doing on other shows at the time, but there were a few new things I hadn't heard live before... which isn't that easy to do when my list of RW concerts is in the double digits. 

He had a special Hyde Park intro video at the beginning that hinted at his special guests for the night... none of whom were Kylie. In the middle of the show, he did sort of a 90s interlude starting with his cover of Don't Look Back in Anger that was standard in the set list at that time (including his Liam Gallagher impression which never fails to amuse me) and then going into the Supergrass song Alright with an appearance by Gaz Coombs (out of Supergrass). Then the Britishness went into overload, as the Coldstream Guards Band and Danny Dyer* joined him for a rendition of Blur's Parklife. Other new live experiences were Something Beautiful and Advertising Space (one of my favourites), along with Take That's Back for Good, which I'd heard recordings of in Rob's early solo days as a punk version, but this was the first I'd heard him do it in the original Gary Barlow ballad style. There was also a very sweet moment at the end during Angels where his wife and eldest daughter came on stage and shared a group hug that lasted for most of the instrumental section.

So yeah, always great to see our Rob, especially when he seems to be having as great a time on stage as we are, watching. Well worth the travel and the crowds, every time.

 

*Either you know why Danny Dyer was the perfect person to join on Parklife, or you don't, so I'm just gonna leave it there

Catching Up: Holiday Weekend in Amsterdam, Moco Museum

When the announcement came out in spring of 2024 that Robbie Williams was having his first art exhibition at the Moco museum in Amsterdam, my last few days of vacation for the rest of the year were already all committed to trips I didn't want to change, and the show's run was set to end before I'd get a new grant of time off. So I was faced with the good employee / devoted fanatic's classic conundrum: do I miss the thing and forever feel like a bad fan, take unpaid days off and lose money, or try to fit an entire trip to Amsterdam and back into the Memorial Day long weekend?

Of course I chose the holiday weekend option, resulting in my most unhinged travel plan to date.

I left on Friday night, and since I usually avoid the amateur travel times (ie holiday long weekends), I have never dealt with a more packed airport or longer security lines. They only had one pre-check line open at SeaTac, and it snaked all through the winding ropes and faaaaaaaaaar beyond, out through the hallway and down past two entire check-in sections. It couldn't have been less than 60 minutes wait, probably closer to 90. When I found the end of the line, there was a member of airport staff placed there to direct the bewildered into queue, so I asked if the first class lineup was shorter, and he pointed me to a premium checkpoint where I didn't get pre-check, but only had to wait about 15 minutes. But even that felt like an inordinate amount of hassle, so the whole experience made me immediately sign up for Clear to jump all security lines in the future, and vow to never fly on a holiday weekend again.

I might be a bit of a spoiled traveller. Shrug, not sorry.

To try to make the trip slightly less tiring, I took a direct flight that arrived in rainy Amsterdam early Saturday afternoon, and went straight to standing in more long lines at passport control. Which is where I was able to confirm that the A Black Lady Sketch Show character who is the world's greatest spy, staying completely invisible by just being a regular-looking woman, is 100% possible.

The passport area of Schipol that they herded us into had no electronic gates, just two booths where everyone in the giant queue had to speak to a person. As I got close to the front, I could see that they were asking every non-Dutch citizen for a whole bunch of details about their stay, requiring them to show a return ticket and hotel confirmation. Which was taking FOREVER as person after person approached the desk looking completely befuddled by the need to have all their travel documents organized and available to show. So, pro jetsetter that I am, when I got up to the desk and handed him my passport, I was ready with all my booking apps open in my phone, as well as my museum ticket, because what could spur more suspicion than going to the other side of the world for barely 48 hours? 

The border guy who'd asked every other person ahead of me no less than 28 questions, quickly scanned my passport and disinterestedly asked where I was going. 

"Well, I'm going to the Moco Museum..."

"I mean, are you in transit to somewhere?"

"No, just here for two days and back home."

[Stamping and handing back the passport] "Have a nice day."

So yeah, sometimes it's beneficial to be an invisible regular-looking middle-aged woman.

Anyway. My museum ticket was for Sunday -- my only full day in Amsterdam -- so getting there was my one goal for the day. The museum itself is pretty small, and I'm never that stand and stare at the art for an hour person regardless, so my visit was relatively quick. There wasn't a lot in Rob's section that he hadn't already posted online, but it was cool to see it at full scale on the walls, and take part in the overall experience they'd created around the show.

The museum has a lot of other Modern & Contemporary art (MoCo, get it?), so I walked through the whole place and loved it. Except the small room of Warhols packed wall to wall with people... I rolled my eyes and walked away from that one, but I did spend a minute nerding out in front of the Basquiats. I also spent WAY too much in the gift shop on Williams, Basquiat, and Banksy swag that you can't get anywhere else (however much you think I spent, double it and you'll be closer), and left very satisfied.

With rain non-stop during my brief visit, and really just one reason for going anyway, all I had the time and desire to do was see the museum and go for a couple walks when it wasn't too damp out. Amsterdam is one of those places that has always felt relaxing and homey to me, so I don't much feel like tourist-ing when I go there, anyway.

I then spent all day Monday getting the long-haul flight home, and was back at work Tuesday morning, exhausted, the weekend a blur.

But still, I'm glad I went. All the sleep deprivation and travel crowd chaos was worth it in this case, but would I ever do it again? 

I mean... yeah, if I had a reason. A good fan's work is never done...

Catching Up: Willie Nelson in San Diego

As a Gen X American, especially one with a country music loving dad, Willie Nelson and his songwriting have been omnipresent throughout my entire life, and I can't remember a day when I wasn't already a fan. His music was always around me, even if I was well into adulthood before I started listening to him on purpose.

At some point in early 2024, it occurred to me that Willie was still touring, and had recently had his 90th birthday, so if I was going to finally get around to seeing him live like I'd always wanted to, I'd better get on it. But all the upcoming tour dates near me were festival-type stadium shows with a long list of performers, totally not my bag. So instead, I grabbed a ticket for a regular tour stop in San Diego, and booked a quick trip to hang with Shotgun Willie and Trigger in sunny California.

Except my first (and so far only) trip to San Diego that April weekend was grey and drizzly, with a bit of a chill in the air. Which wasn't ideal since the venue was outdoors, right on the water -- basically a beachfront version of the Hollywood Bowl, complete with weird shared tables and picnics down front. So my seat in the section nearest the stage got partial cover from the shell over the stage when a light rain started, but I was also stuck sharing a table with boozed up strangers who wanted to chat with me... Win some, lose some, I guess?

Anyway. The opening band, Asleep at the Wheel, was fun and enjoyable, doing all country standards. So much singing along to songs I wasn't even aware I knew the words to!

And of course I don't have to tell you that Willie was great. He still sounds good and has all the charisma, all the stage presence he's always had, even if he's (obviously) no spring chicken and now puts on a seated, more mellow acoustic show. The Family (his band) was a smaller version of itself, and included his son Micah, who also led a couple songs with Willie and the band backing him up, one of which was a particularly memorable moment of the show.  

The song was prefaced by Micah telling a story of sitting around chatting and playing cards at home, when his dad offhandedly said, "If I don't get to Heaven, I won't have far to fall." Which Micah rightly recognized as a perfect Willie line, and replied, "You need to write that song." But Willie didn't want to, and suggested Micah should write it instead. So, then, Micah told us, "I smoked so much weed I felt like I was dying, sat down, and wrote a Willie Nelson song." And it really was exactly that... perfectly witty, with just the right guitar sound. I regret not recording it on my phone that night, because my wish that it will appear on an album has yet to be granted, and I'd totally settle for a crap version on my mobile if it never does.

Willie and Family started at 8:15 and only played about 70 minutes, but there was no messing around. One song went right into the next, so they still packed a lot into the set list. He did some of the biggest hits, but he has so many that he could have gone twice as long and still not included them all. I loved every second, singing and smiling the whole time, as it flew by in what felt like seconds. And then, even with the slow, crowded exit from the venue and a 20 minute walk to my hotel, I was back in my room by 10pm. I love gigs for old folks! More artists should do stuff that ends early. Or starts even earlier. I know matinees aren't considered very rock n roll, but I'd go see waaaaay more gigs if I didn't have to stay up past my bedtime to do it. Get that middle aged disposable income, rockers! It's there for the taking!

Postscript - 

Because I bought my tickets long after the tour had gone on sale, the only seats left up close to the stage were 'VIP' ones that came with a package of swag and a year's membership to Willie's fan club. Yes, I'm a diva who refuses to watch anything from the cheap seats at this point in my life, but also, I like merch, why not? So I got my stuff and signed up for the fan club, where I ended the year winning their holiday giveaway contest, netting me a signed copy of Willie's book about his songwriting, Energy Follows Thought, a cool wooden tree ornament, and a gift certificate that I used to buy a t-shirt. Not a bad VIP bonus!