Going to a "house concert."

Quote:
Hola,
My wife got a mailing list update form David Olney, and it turns out he is playing a 'house concert' about 90 miles from where I am working in California.

I called the number to see where the Acoustic Barn was in Newcastle, CA, and the owner answered and told me the concert is at his house, which he calls the Acoustic Barn.

It's a noncommercial venue, just this guy's private residence where he has a barn.

I think it's going to be just David Olney and his guitar.

Sounds interesting. A totally intimate venue for one of my favorite singers. Wish I had a recording device!

I'll try to get some pics and report back.

Don't forget to yell out "Freebird!" It always cracks me up when I do that.

April 27, 2008 - 8:11pm

Buddha

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Last seen: 9 years 5 days ago

Joined: Sep 8 2005 - 10:24am

Re: Going to a "house concert."

Well, it was pretty cool.

Here's some pics:

The place was about 7 miles north of Auburn, California. The red casita thing had a bedroom downstairs and the concert room upstairs.

I didn't know the culture of the show, but lots of people brought picnics and vino.

Pic from the back of the room (it's smaller than it looks!) David Olney is on the right in the jacket. Sergio Webb is on the left. Sound was courtesy of the two Yamaha monitors.

The electronics:

From my seat:

Blurry shot (no flash) during the show:

All in all, kind of amazing.

Although, my first emotion was feeling embarrassed over getting to see him in such a small place.

They announced that David and Sergio were voted the favorite act of the Moab Folk Festival last fall, and will be playing there again in November.

If you are a fan of the singer/songwriter acoustic (mostly) thing, then the Moab Folk Festival may be right up your alley!

April 27, 2008 - 9:19pm

mrlowry

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Last seen: 3 years 6 months ago

Joined: May 30 2006 - 1:37pm

Re: Going to a "house concert."

Seeing an artist that you like a lot in a small environment can't be beat. Why did they need amplification in such a small environment? You wouldn't believe how many times I've seen people in a small environments such as coffee houses that didn't need any sound reinforcement, but it was used anyway. I bet many time it's more out of force of habit than anything else.

April 28, 2008 - 7:02am

trevort

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Last seen: 9 years 9 months ago

Joined: Aug 21 2007 - 8:05am

Re: Going to a "house concert."

Amen to that! We have this culture of amplification that's hard to suppress.

In my neighbourhood, we do house concerts, pretty much like what Buddha's shown. An audience of 20 is great. Any more, and its time to rent the church or the art gallery. And yet, for those 20 people, almost everyone brings a PA. The sound is not nearly as good through the machine, and is often too loud for the room. Sigh.

It has to do with vocal production, folks aren't trained to project. When Elvis Costello was touring North, he stepped away from the mike for one song and belted it out into the 3000 seat orchestral hall. It was apparent he'd been working on his technique. Very effective.

Also there's a bit of ego at play, having the power to blast with the PA.

April 30, 2008 - 4:57pm

Elk

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Last seen: 1 month 3 weeks ago

Joined: Dec 26 2006 - 6:32am

Re: Going to a "house concert."

Great fun. That's quite an invite you received.

My experience is that most pop/folk/jazz vocalists have very small voices and need amplification to be heard. But it would be nice to have just a tad on the voice and just a tiny bit on guitar.

A lot of people seem to enjoy listening to "louder than necessary" as well. I don't get the appeal.

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