Finally got five minutes to breathe so I can post a bit of a review. I'll post it here rather than the Aussie thread 'cause I think it might get loooooong
Okay, I know this is Marty's board but I want to talk about the two opening acts, Johnny Barker and Jonathan Harding, because they were so great and deserve recognition. Both their music is acoustic type stuff anyway, so they blended with Marty really well. Johnny Harding played first, and he was great. I didn't get to catch his set as a whole because I was busy doing other bits at the door, but even when I couldn't see him he gave me chills. He did a couple of his own songs (Baby Steps, which has been one of my favorite songs of late, since I knew he was on the tour and checked out his myspace, was one of them) and he also did a soft acoustic version of Living On A Prayer, which ROCKED. It could have bombed..so easily. But hell no. It's a shame he doesn't have an album or anything out, the impression I got while talking to him earlier in the day was that there was one in the works but drama and politics got the best of the process and it never eventuated. I hope it does though! I'm a definite fan now. Jonathan Harding: One To Watch.
Now, I LOOOOOVE Johnny Barker, I think he's just amazing and his music is very soft and haunting. I'm a big fan of his (I don't like phrasing it this way, but he's my "second favorite"). I finally got his album for Christmas and it didn't leave my stereo until I packed to come here. (Ok, I started packing on new years day pretty much....but that was one of the last things in my suitcase!) The staff in the music department at a local department store don't like me very much because I always slip a couple of their copies of his album over in the "highly recommended" section whenever I pass through. Anyway, I was down the other end of the bar when Johnny started playing, and I didn't even realize he was starting to play..next thing I hear him start singing and I get chills through my entire body. I don't remember what he played to be honest. I think it must have been mostly covers? Tania might know, but I don't remember recognizing any of it as his stuff off the album, except for Little Box (it's on his myspace, check it out!) which is his "single", if you like. I don't think it's on radio but it seems to be what he always plays on TV interviews and stuff. Anyway, it's a great track and he played that one for Tania. His set was far too short - I've said this from the beginning, but the entire trip and all the money and time I've spent would have been worth it for Johnny B alone. So, obviously I was a Johnny fan before the show, but tenfold after..hell, BEFORE the show, just from chatting and hanging with him. He's really sweet and funny but also quite energetic compared to what his music and acting style would lead you to believe and also very humble. He's a very talented dude, sings, acts and makes movies (among other stuff, I'm sure) and he has those crazy artist eyes! (No, not crazy eyes...crazy artist eyes are different). Anyway he was very very very very cool all round. He's also very spunky
. I hope that I can see him perform again really really soon. Next time I see him it will also be better in a way because Marty won't be up right after , and I can totally enjoy Johnny in his own right without being a little impatient for Marty.
Speaking of Marty...hehe. The bar was unfortunately fairly uncrowded, so there was a bit of space while Johnny and Johnny we're doing their thing, but the second the words "Marty Casey" left Tania's mouth, everybody in the place materialized at the front. The first thing that struck me once he sat down was how totally difference his presence was on stage, compared to earlier in the day, before he had even said a word.
First he talked about how the show was gonna run, that requests and questions and everything was welcome, and then he chose the first song he played - Hold On. He introduced it and told the story behind it which was cool because, while it's not the hardest song to figure out the meaning to
, but I had never heard Marty talk about it before, so that was nice. I teetered on the edge of tears while he was playing Hold On, I think half from the song which is always beautiful and half from the total emotion I was feeling at finally, FINALLY hearing him sing at just arms reach away from me.
I forget the order from here on out so I'll just talk about them as I remember them.
Skinny White Guitar Player was pretty early on. (at my request, woo. I couldn't decide which one I wanted to hear the most and ask for, thanks to Nancy for telling me to request in the other thread, btw!) so I just gave up over thinking it and just picked the first song that came into my head. It went down great - the crowd loved his story behind it and the song rocked, naturally.
The audience seemed to be more into RS stuff than anything else (except for one guy who tried his hardest to get Marty to play an LA Guns track, ha). Marty commented that they seemed to be asking for all the slow stuff. He played Creep, WYWH, Never Tear Us Apart (oh boy. teetering on the edge of tears here too. It was very beautiful and sensual. He thanked INXS as his segway into NTUA and I think he does that at every show?) Lithium (THIS ROCKED! I didn't realize he did that acoustically. Totally totally amazing) and Hit Me Baby. Hit Me Baby was so fun live! The audience all knew the words (I didn't know them until Marty did it on RS, honest!!) and was totally into it. This song was the clincher for the friend I brought to the show becoming a fan. (He knew nothing of Marty going into the show except for the songs on the music page off this site that I had linked him too) To quote him afterwards "okay, let me make sure I'm remembering this right and not hallucinating or something. He sang a BRITNEY SPEARS song......ACOUSTICALLY.......and f**king ROCKED the place? What the hell just happened in there? That was just..what? WHAT THE HELL? WHO IS THIS GUY?
?"
Marty did Mr Brightside with Johnny Barker, which was wicked. They were originally going to do Trees together, but to my surprise, Johnny wanted to do Mr Brightside instead. It's very unlike his own stuff so it was interesting to watch! The crowd loved it too, singing along top volume.
He also played a new song I had never heard of before called "Dark Angel". It was great! I don't remember the lyrics very well but it was a little dark and nice and intense in that fantastic Marty way and sounds like a great LH track, I hope it's on the album. My friend tried to video it but I confiscated the camera, sorry guys
.
Trees was SO AWESOME. I'll be totally honest, Trees was never one of my favorite LH songs and I never really got the hype and I didn't get why the audience had been requesting it all friggin night over and over. I don't think it helped that after RS Trees was the only Marty mp3 I had and I just listened to it so much it stopped becoming music and lyrics and became a background blur. Well, I sure as hell get it now! The crowd LOVED IT! And Marty of course invited people up on stage to get up and dance. I have a great pic of me and Tania at this point that neither of us knew was being taken. A couple of guys sang into the second mic which was hilarious. The energy in the room was so much fun. It was just awesome. I knew it was the last song of the night so I felt a touch of sadness but it was a great note to end on..or so I thought.
Okay, this is where the waterworks start. I can't recap it so I'm just going to write what Marty said after this as I remember it.
"Ok, that's usually the last one, but I gotta play one more tonight. I don't play this song very often anymore.......but this ones for Kelly" and then he started playing "I Alone". This song is so, so, so, so incredibly special to me and though I sort of explained why in the thread for this song in the video section, that's only really half of it and only Marty knows the full story, which I guess is why he played it..but I never expected anything of him when I told him why that song is so special to me, I just wanted him to know. So it means a lot that he played it. I started shaking from the first note and as soon as he sang the first line tears were flowing freely. Next thing Tania wraps her arms around me and if she hadn't been there holding me I don't think I could have stayed standing. Once he got past the first verse I composed myself a little..enough to sing along anyway! One day they will invent a word that describes how I felt for those four minutes, but it doesn't exist today. Thank you again a thousand times over Marty, it meant the world...
After the show Marty partied till the very end. After about 2am (the bar closed at 3am) there was probably less than 10 people there but that didn't phase him and made sure he kept the party going and kept everybody up dancing My feet were burrrrning from all the walking around the days before and street teaming that day..but I wasn't going to let a silly little thing like blinding pain stop me from dancing into the wee hours with Marty Casey! Marty made sure that everybody there had a night to remember. I know I'll remember it for a while..forever.
I finally tore myself away from the bar just before closing (only to miss the last train out of town for the night, woo....) I said my goodbyes to Marty and I had thought leaving was going to be insanely hard..but I felt happy that I had an INSANE day with 12 hours of unimaginably amazing experiences with three unimaginably amazing musicians and one unimaginably amazing woman and I felt strangely..peaceful.
Thank you to the two beautiful people that fought to make these past two weeks happen, I love you both
Pics + Video (of I Alone, don't worry, I didn't take it so the camera was steady!
) ASAP after I get home on friday, I promise!
Kelly ~ I got goosebumps just thinking about him singing I Alone!! My favorite from Rockstar.... what an awesome review, and an awesome evening!! 
