Brandi Carlile's Human Tour and Soundcheck

As I've mentioned before, I've been a fan of Brandi Carlile for 23-ish years, since the days of just local Seattle fame. But now her hometown shows are at the Gorge (nope, hate it, never gonna go), unless we're lucky enough for a special fan gig (which are rare), so I have to travel to see her live. When the Human Tour was announced, the trip that worked for me was the last date in San Francisco, in early March. And given how many BC t-shirts I saw on the flights there and back, and how many people sitting near me said they'd come from Seattle, I'm not the only one who does this. I even overheard someone saying they went to SFO because they also hate the Gorge.

But it turned out that was only the first leg of the tour; a short time later, the second half was announced. It included a stop in Vancouver, BC, which is another home city for me, so of course I went to that one, too, at the end of last week.

In both cases, I got the VIP ticket that included a goodie bag, soundcheck, and a backstage tour -- not any meetings with the band or anything, just info about the setup (shrug - I come from performing arts, nothing new) -- because that's what was tied to the best seats. In SanFran, that put me in the fourth row, off to the side, in the perfect location for a Tim Hanseroth super fan. But in Vancouver, it got me row one, just off center. 

I was excited for my front row seat, but it was also surreal, since I hadn't watched a gig unobstructed, leaning on the stagefront barrier, since the tiny local rock shows I saw every weekend in high school. Never as a grown-ass woman, and definitely not in a big-ass arena.

But I didn't get to actually be in the front row (or the fourth row in SF) until the doors officially opened for the show, more than 3 hours after we had to show up to see the soundcheck... which seated us first come, first served. And I'm never gonna be at the head of the line. 

Anyway. In both cases, soundcheck was fun, but Vancouver was more like a party-slash-band rehearsal, with full songs, chatting, taking requests, even singing Happy Birthday to a small kid down front. San Francisco was a true soundcheck: we still got some commentary and made requests, but the majority was partial songs, often repeated, while each performer got their levels right. I guess things had tightened up in the intervening six months. 

Both swag bags were identical, and both backstage tours were also pretty much the same; Vancouver was slightly more interesting to me, though, because it gave me a peek behind the scenes at Rogers Arena where I've seen loads of hockey games through the years. In both cases, after the tour, they sent us to get the best selection at the merch stand, and then we had to wait (for up to an hour) in a small area, until doors opened and we could be released into the rest of the arena. Luckily, in Vancouver I'd met two other women in the VIP check-in lineup, all of us solo and up from different parts of Washington, and we ended up being a little gang for the whole night. For once, I had someone to hang out with while there was nothing to do but wait.

So the shows! Both were amazing, of course. The Brandi Carlile Band regularly goes for two hours, but I think Vancouver may have gone about half an hour beyond that, and they went with all Canadian covers for the night (A Case of You and Uninvited)... except for Dolly (Islands in the Stream with the opener CMAT), because duh. Both gigs included a section of requests in the middle - just Brandi and the Twins. I didn't get called on to give a song at either show, but was happy with the choices, regardless. In SF they were Closer to You and Cannonball, My Song and This Time Tomorrow in Vancouver. 

 

 

I took quite a few pictures at both, but oddly enough, the Vancouver ones weren't that much better than the ones further back. Maybe I was too close, the angle was weird from up under the mic... but I also just didn't take as many. I wanted to enjoy the rare experience without holding a phone in front of my face the whole time. 

Plus, there was a young woman, just to my left in the first row, who was completely stone-faced for the entire show. It reminded me of Robbie Williams, who often says he can be performing in front of 50,000 people having the time of their lives, but he will notice the one person who looks bored, and fixate on them all night. I was going to be someone the band could see having the time of her life, and not block that with a mobile device. I was also slightly to the Phil Hanseroth side of center, and he interacts directly with the audience a lot more than the rest of the band... which you'll miss if you're busy framing photos.

As it turned out, by the time Brandi Carlile Band took the stage, I didn't feel weird about being in the front row, I felt exactly where I was meant to be.

I told my temporary girl gang in Vancouver that, given my start seeing Brandi and the Twins up close in bars and restaurants, being far away in an arena feels wrong. I need to be close, in that same small venue proximity. One of them replied, "She needs you there, too." 

Which was said jokingly, but I'm just going to keep acting as if it's true... no matter how many identical tours and merch bags it takes to be there.

Girls to the front!

Back to School

I've been neglecting this place for the last while, partly because I haven't really gone anywhere or done anything interesting, but also because my writing time has all been going into long academic papers, for both graduate and undergraduate classes. Now that those are wrapping up, I'm back... sort of. Realistically, I'll probably spend more time on the newsletter I'm starting, but more on that later.

So how did I end up as a full time student for the first time in 25 years? You may have noticed that pretty much anyone who's remotely near middle age is having a mid-life existential crisis, because, well... look around. Mine started last year when I realized that I was disillusioned with the kind of work I'd spent nearly my whole career on, but I didn't know what I did want to do. Or even what I could do, after devoting decades to becoming an expert in one field. 

In trying to figure this all out, I found an online career change tool where you input your skills and experience, and it provides a few alternative jobs you're suited for. The list it spat out for me was:

1. Museum Curator
2. Sociologist
3. [my current job]

Helpful! I have absolutely no interest in curating museums, and Sociologist isn't actually a job. I know this, because I have two sociology degrees and couldn't find any work using them, which is how I ended up doing option three in the first place. 

But it did get me thinking... I always loved academia. I wanted to stay there forever, until the intensity of grad school burned me out. Even since then, I read as much for education as pure entertainment, and maybe more schooling would help me figure out what I want to do with the rest of my working life. So I took a long summer sabbatical and went back to being a full time student for a few months.

Spoiler alert: it didn't inspire a new career path, at least not yet. My break ends in a couple weeks and I'll be back at my job again. But the time back in school did rekindle and expand my love of the social sciences, and make me feel a whole lot better about moving through this messy time and place.

I know it sounds crazy, since ignorance is supposed to be bliss and all, but I’ve always been a research junkie. Throughout my life, in the face of anything daunting or scary, it’s information that makes me feel able to face it; learning as much as I can stuff into my brain is how I cope. It's like that James Baldwin quote: Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. But I don’t just learn enough, I learn too much. I get overeducated. 

So in these past few months, I've spent the majority of my time digging deep into history, sociology, political science, public policy, and more. And as always, having the knowledge to see the country clearly has made me feel more able to deal, and to remain hopeful through the dark days.

And that inspired me to share all the stuff I’m learning way too much about, and how I’m getting by. Most days it’s by understanding the politics and societal context of an issue, but others it’s obsessing about the pop culture that allows me to take a break from thinking about it all.  

Hence, the Overeducated newsletter, kicking off in the coming days.

Yes, it's on Substack, and no, that platform hasn't become less problematic. Unfortunately, I'm going to accept being a hypocrite here because it's the one engine with the full publishing abilities for free, and I can't justify spending money to put out this experiment that may never go anywhere. So that's where it is for now and we'll see if it's worth investing in down the line.

And, look, I know that a newsletter is the 2026 version of a pandemic podcast, but I never claimed to be a trendsetter. Just someone who loves to write, whenever and wherever.

Robbie's Long 90s in London

If it seems like all I ever do is go to London and/or see Robbie Williams live... welp... it's not not true...

When Robbie's latest album, Britpop, came out, he described it as the album he wanted to do right after his ouster from Take That, or what his first album would've sounded like if he knew then what he knows now. And that eventually inspired him to do a tiny show at Dingwalls in London, playing both Britpop and the first album, Life Thru a Lens, in their entirety. He called the gig Long '90s. 

That show was so wildly successful (I wasn't able to go, there were about 12k people ahead of me in the virtual line for 500 tickets) that it became a mini Long 90s tour, with 4 dates in small-ish venues around England and Scotland. And despite initially being locked out of tickets for all those shows as well (over 60k people ahead of me in the pre-sale queue!!), I knew I had to be there. So I booked flights anyway and continued to check Ticketmaster daily, determined to make it. After months of nothing but a sold out message, less than 2 weeks before the show, on my birthday, a handful of tickets for the London date were quietly released and I got one... maybe the only time in my life that keeping the faith actually worked.

But anyway, the show! 

I had a standing floor ticket, and since the Brixton Academy holds less than 5000 people (including the seats in the balcony), I wasn't worried about showing up early to get a good view. But it turns out that I should have. When I arrived, the lineup snaked around and around the building, over multiple blocks, and it took me at least half an hour to get to the door.  

So by time time I got in and quickly grabbed a t-shirt, the opening band was on their last few songs, and I was stuck at the veeeerrrrrrrry back. But since people always step out for drinks (or whatever) between sets, I was sure I'd have a chance to move forward when the clear out happened.

Nope. No luck. Nobody moved. And when Rob got started, I could hear the front section was full of my people, singing every word and having the time of their lives. While I was surrounded by the casual fans who had conversations during the non-hits, to the point that at times I struggled to hear the music. Oh, and a Robbie impersonator was standing right behind me (it's a lucrative gig in the UK, apparently), so all the loud-talkers were also asking for pictures with him as part of their generally being annoying.

So yeah. I was stuck in the wrong section. But it was still my only opportunity to hear two beloved albums live, so I made the best of it. And even with super zoom, I was too far away to get good photos of the stage, which gave me a reason to keep the phone in my pocket and just enjoy the singular experience. 

The concept was pretty simple: Rob sang both albums in order, and told stories, either about the songs themselves, or other things in his life related to the songs. 

Life Thru a Lens was first, and I had a fabulous time singing along to every song. Funny how I can remember every lyric of an album that came out 30 years ago, but I can't remember where I put the reading glasses that I took off my face 30 seconds ago. It was great to hear so many songs that I thought I would never hear live, alongside the ones I've heard repeatedly. He did the full album, in order, except for a swap of two songs when he accidentally introduced the wrong one. It was odd hearing Angels early in the set, instead of at the end, and Rob enjoyed himself by only singing about the last 30% of the song, and letting the crowd do the rest. At the end, he tacked on the hidden track poem, Hello Sir, as a bonus before stepping off stage just long enough for us to hear the Take That classic, Everything Changes, overhead.

Then the band hustled back on to play Britpop, which has already become my favourite overall Robbie Williams album. Intensive Care and Take the Crown are still a close second and third, but I think hearing Britpop live only helped solidify its place at the top. I sang along with at least some of every song -- as much as I knew... my memory is middle aged and the record had only been out for a couple of weeks. They did everything in order, but left out the songs You and Pocket Rocket. I can understand skipping the latter, since it's just an alternate version of a song they'd already performed, but I (and apparently many other fans) were disappointed not to hear You. They also threw in Selfish Disco from the deluxe version of the album, after it was picked to be the extra song by an Instagram vote.  

In the end, bad spot in the crowd or not, I had an amazing time. Photos or not, I'll never forget it. One of the best concerts ever.

During the show, Rob talked about wanting to do more smaller shows where he doesn't have to do his big hit set, and HELL, YES! Getting up at 3am to endure ticket pre-sale nightmares, travel halfway around the world, whatever it takes, I will be at every small Robbie show possible. Always and forever.

And not just because I'd prefer to never hear She's the One ever again for the rest of my life. Although that would be a perk.

Top Fives of 2025

Look, no matter what's going on in the world, I wouldn't be a proper blogger hack if I didn't publish my favourite media of the year at the end of December. So here you go, the top fives of 2025...

 

Books  

(That I read in 2025, not necessarily new books in 2025)

The Resurrectionist by A Rae Dunlap

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova

Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success by Jeff Hiller

The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa by Jonathan B Losos

 

Music 

(new albums from this year) 

Brandi Carlile - Returning to Myself 

Jann Arden - Mixtape 

Sam Bettens - Coming Home

Willie Nelson - Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle

Stereophonics - Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Wait

 

Television

Long Way Home (Latest in the Long Way motorcycle trip series. I love Ewan and Charley, and I love travel, and I will watch these two go anywhere. And then rewatch it again. And again. And again. And again. I hope they keep making these series until they’re adventuring to the high street for some shopping on their mobility scooters, because I’ll still be tuning in)

Acapulco (Final season this year, but worth going back to the beginning) 

Man on the Inside (2nd season this year - I love me a Mike Schur sitcom!) 

Clean Slate (Cute, sweet, very Norman Lear -- one of his last shows -- and with a great cast led by Laverne Cox) 

Mid-Century Modern (It's basically the classic doofy sitcom of the 70s and 80s... except super gay. Mostly just silly fun, and Matt Bomer playing the dumb hot friend is a DELIGHT)

 

Podcasts

The Joy Reid Show

The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali (Not really a podcast, but he's always posting great discussions that I watch / listen to like a podcast, so I'm counting it)

Vibe Check

How We Made Your Mother

American Fever Dream (Sadly ended this year) 

 

Movies... Well, Movie... That I Didn't Love...

No top 5, because I never see new movies anymore, even on streaming. I don't think they make movies for me anymore. My queendom for a 90 minute light comedy with absolutely no stakes!! 

The one movie I saw that came out this year was Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic. But as much as I love Rob, I didn't enjoy it. There were a few moments that I really did like, mostly little details and special fan Easter eggs, but overall... meh. 

First off, it's a musical, and it's well over 2 hours long, which are two of my most hated qualities in films. Secondly, the chimp thing was weird. Everyone else says they took almost no time for it to make perfect sense, but not me... I couldn't get past it. Especially since they used Rob's actual eyes and facial expressions on the CGI ape, and the combination just weirded me out. Finally, as a fan who was there and watching during a lot of what's in the movie, the timeline being all jumbled and the songs happening at the wrong point in his career were really distracting. As were all the scenes of him driving... he doesn't drive, never has! So maybe it's a movie for a musical lover who knows nothing about Rob, or the kind of Robbie super fan who loves anything he does unconditionally, but it's not for me. Oh well, maybe I'll like the next one...

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.