No musician could have scripted this chill-out concert more appropriately. Just like a would-be episode of MTV’s Unplugged, Scotland’s Fran Healy & Andy Dunlop (of Travis fame) played an all acoustic set of their most celebrated songs and rare gems Wednesday night before an intimate crowd at the Granada Theater in Dallas. For most of the evening, their tunes were played in chronological order, complemented by very funny and sometimes charming anecdotes with an entertaining slide show.Healy entered the stage solo to start the night, sporting a generic solid t-shirt and denim jeans, and offered some self-deprecating humor about his childhood. He must have felt the warm welcome as he played tunes in front of a hanging sign that read "Glasgow Times Presents." The Scot then played a dreamy ballad, Twenty that was dedicated to his teenage roots and miscellaneous childhood follies. It's hard not to be amused by this very humorous stanza, “it’s hard to accept the role you're given … when sitting there staring at the ceiling … when you're thirteen.”
The Scottish Duo later played a resonating acoustic version of their popular single, All I Want To Do Is Rock. Healy enamored the crowd with a pitch-perfect wailing vocal, while Dunlop provided just enough flare with his masterful guitar rhythms. Another impressionable moment was when they paid homage to both Kafka’s love letters and Noel Gallagher’s Top-40 hit Wonderwall before playing his similarly chorded hit Writing To Reach You from their The Man Who LP.
The somber but cleverly written ballad, Why Does It Always Rain On Me, was inspired by a vacation trip in Israel, which was inundated with rain showers. The band sported a hybrid slide of an Israeli/Spanish flag because the track was produced and recorded between both countries.Healy and Dunlop’s most captivating point of the night was during their fantastic rendition of their 1999 hit Driftwood. Healy recalls watching an episode of Cheers where Norm overheard his boss talking about firing all of the “driftwood” (unwanted personnel). The backstory behind this popular track may cause fans to view it in the same more morbid style as most of Morrissey’s discography.
The pair closed the night’s festivities with two crowd-pleasing favorites during their short encore performance. Concertgoers were screaming with pleasure while the Scots played their brilliant Britney Spear’s cover, Hit Me Baby One More Time. Fans laughed feverishly to a slide shot of a bald Britney. The Scots final performance surprised fans when it began with a few verses from Coldplay’s Viva La Vida before crooning to their newer 2007 hit Battleships.
The band offered fans an opportunity to have signed autographs of their 2009 Concert Tour Bootleg CD and chat with attendees after the show.
Grade: A-
SkyNotes
California native Greg Laswell has generated acclaim in the Indie-music scene for conjuring up dark captivating ballads that touch your inner core. The artist played for nearly 45 minutes as he shared stories that provided more insight into his discography. Many of Laswelll’s tracks have appeared in several night-time serial dramas including Grey's Anatomy and Damages. What A Day is an uplifting Bruce Hornsby-like piano ballad that could serve as a wake-up call to be more productive and give up "smoking." Many fans were cheering during his dark and haunting cover of Cindy Lauper’s Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Laswell playfully recalled a prolific e-mailer who scorned him for releasing this cover to the public. The message said the artist would “rue the day” he recorded the version.
He currently is plugging a new Covers EP, which includes brilliant versions of songs from Echo and The Bunnymen and Kate Bush.
Grade: B+
Posted 10/15/09
