A few months ago Jacqui texted me to ask if I had seen Ray La Montagne in concert. I hadn't, so I jumped on his website and lo and behold, his tour was stopping in our area! With good news of great joy I wrote her back "HE'S COMING TO TAMPA ON APRIL 25!" and in so doing I ruined the birthday present she was planning for me. :)
So we went to see him at the Tampa Theater last week.
First - a word about the venue. For you readers and friends from the STL, imagine the Fox Theater at 1/5 the size. The Tampa Theater is very old and has a classic, almost gaudy feel to it. And it's very, very small. During slow moments of the show I could hear the rustling of feet from someone two sections over. [Andy and Adrienne, if you're reading this, we sat in the same place as I did with you at the Ben Folds/Guster/Rufus show - except that the same spot under the balcony at the TT was Row P].
It was the first show I've been to since I moved to Tampa a year and a half ago (excluding The Swell Season in St Louis a year ago, this week). Also on the schedule for us this year - Dave Matthews, Coldplay (Jacqui's other present for me/us), and U2.
We missed the opening act because I was teaching a Bible class. I was a little tense as we raced across the bridge, circled the theater on one way streets to find a parking spot, and entered the venue as the lights were blinking.
With beverages in hand, we took our seats as the house lights went down. Ray snuck onto the stage as the cheers went up. From the darkness, came the rhythmic sound of Ray's Martin guitar and the mournful sound of his harmonica, mimicing the strings from "All the Wild Horses." Game on.
It was apparent from the beginning that Ray was more comfortable standing on the sidelines than being the star. With his cap pulled low over his face the whole set, his eyes were hidden from his fans. He had little to say, instead he let his music do the talking. His raspy voice crooned into the mic through Jolene, Let it Be Me, Trouble, Be Here Now, Shelter, Burn and Empty. When the band joined him later in the set, I found myself paying more attention to his teammates than to Ray - which is perhaps the way he would have liked it.
