Frank Smith

As you may recall, Frank Smith is the whole reason this little blog even exists. So I guess you can say that I kind of have a soft spot for this band. Just warning you.

A few things you should know about Frank Smith: No one in the band is named Frank Smith. The vocals alone - which somehow manage the feat of being simultaneously smooth and rough - will hook you. The arrangements - clean, sweet, fun country - will guarantee that you stay. In conclusion: Rent a Texas dance hall, queue the Frank Smith, and prepare to fall hard.

Moving on

The fact that I forgot about the Frank Smith show had absolutely nothing to do with the experience itself. Once reminded of my attendance I was able to recall a pleasant time had by all. The music was delicate, soothing, and toe-tap worthy. The performance was clean and simple.

Next on stage was Brazos - in a nutshell, a very big favorite. Strong song writing, varied and unique arrangements, and, sigh, vocals that hint at some deep yearning, at least within yourself if not within the singer, while simultaneously comforting, rocking, and hypnotizing you.

Live music love

Two things:
I don't attend live shows as often as I'd like due to time and (mainly) financial constraints. Fortunately, the city I live in makes it easy to get a healthy dose of in-the-flesh performances with minimal effort/dough.

I've recently discovered that I am capable of completely forgetting otherwise unforgettable concerts. Whether this can be explained by the sheer multitude of concerts I've been fortunate enough to attend or my own crapped out memory is beside the point. It should NOT happen.

Fret not:
Thanks to a a very kind Christmas gift, I now posses a Canon PowerShot. To be more exact, and in case you get off on this kind of information, the camera is an SD790 IS Digital Elph. With said camera, I will take a least one photo of every live music concert I attend from this day forward and forever save these photos on this brand new baby blog. . . and by "this day forward" I of course mean retroactively starting on March 18th - the first day of the SXSW music conference.

And now a quick story:
A little over a year ago I briefly met a couple members of a local band, Frank Smith, at my neighbor's courtyard party. Naturally I looked up their tunes as soon as I was able and stumbled across a gem of a song called Throwin Rocks. From that point forward, it became a goal to see this group live.

Fast forward to February 2009. Still no live Frank Smith. I'm at friend's house party, tucked away in his room, enjoying the company of two awesome gal pals, and awaiting live music that is set to take place any minute now. Friend pops into his room, tells us to come quick because the music is about to start, and that this guy is really good. As we're making our way to the living room a familiar and beautiful melody begins - holy shit, it's Throwin Rocks. Sitting not even two feet from lead vocalist, Aaron Sinclair, during a short but wonderful solo set, I thought, "How crazy lucky am I that this is my first Frank Smith concert experience??" After the show I of course approached Aaron to thank/praise him and to share the back story which you just read.

The next day I'm excitedly blabbing about all this with a friend when she stops me to say, "But you've already seen Frank Smith." Ummm, qua? Not only had I seen Frank Smith in concert, I saw Frank Smith in concert in JANUARY. January! We were in February folks. Sad. Just plain sad. Oh, and I took photos.