I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 14, 2019] Gabriel Kahane

I saw Gabriel Kahane open for Punch Brothers about four years ago.   I was really impressed by his piano playing and songwriting.  So when he announced a new album I was on board to see him right away.  I got a ticket for him at a small bar call Bourbon and Branch in Philly.  But I wound up with other plans so I couldn’t go.  Then I saw that he was playing a show at Princeton!

The show was titled 8980: Book of Travelers and was supposed to come with a video of some sort documenting his Book of Travelers album.  I was really curious about this (and pretty excited too, as there were only two locations on the tour where he was going to include the video).  There was no video at our show.  On a message board I was able to find out why not:

There is a version with video and we had originally planned to present it last night. Ultimately, the more personal, direct, Gabriel at the piano seemed like a better fit for our space so we made a change.

Although it would have been neat to see the video (maybe), they made the right choice with the absolutely intimate nature of this performance (and the amazing sound and visuals in Richardson auditorium).

I wasn’t sure if he was going to play the album in sequence (I hoped he would play other songs too).  So I was pleased when the show started with a song I love from The Ambassador called “Veda (1 Pierce Dr).”  He had played this last time and I really enjoyed it.  This was one of the few songs he played on guitar as well.

Because he then moved to piano and he played a bunch of mini sets of songs.  He began the first set with “Charming Disease” a song from Where are the Arms, an album I don’t know.  And then he moved into songs from Book of Travelers.   This new album has a thematic component which Kahane explained to us.  Here’ the blurb from his site:

The morning after the 2016 presidential election, I packed a suitcase and boarded Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited bound for Chicago. Over the next thirteen days, I talked to dozens of strangers whom I met, primarily, in dining cars aboard the six trains that would carry me some 8,980 miles around the country. The songs on this album are intended as a kind of loose diary of that journey, and as a portrait of America at a time of profound national turbulence.

The songs are sad (but beautiful), but they are not overtly political–they are stories of humanity.  He told us that he didn’t look at any media for the two weeks that he rode around.  It sounds fascinating.

The setlist below is an approximation because I didn’t know the song titles and I can’t remember what he played in what order.

After a few songs he started talking about Twitter.  Back when I saw him last time, he did a piece called Craigslistleider which was offers he saw on Craigslist that he decided to put to music.  They were short and hilarious.

He has now done this with Twitter Tweets.  Each on of the Twitter songs was about a minute long.  In addition to the Tweets he wrote (after a fight with his inner voice) he played for us “God’s Perfect Killing Machine” [The reason cats are so pissy is they’re God’s perfect killing machines but they only weigh 8lbs and we keep picking them up and kissing them].  Then he put a Martha Stewart Tweet to music, followed by a hilarious Tweet from Mitt Romney [My favorite meat is hot dog, by the way. That is my favorite meat.  My second favorite meat is hamburger. And, everyone says, oh, don’t you prefer steak? It’s like, I know steaks are great, but I like hot dog best, and I like hamburger next best.]  I really enjoyed “Marxist Peanut Allergy (for Robert Schumann)” [is there anything more capitalist than a peanut with a top hat, cane, and monocle selling you other peanuts to eat].  And finally a Tweet by Kyleplantemoji that was amusing and had to do with Rutherford B. Hayes.

But after the lightheartedness, it was time to get back to more serious music.

He switched to his guitar and played the “title track” to The Ambassador (“Ambassador Hotel (3400 Wilshire Blvd.)”) which was beautiful and sad.

Then he told us a long story about the origins of the song “Singing with a Stranger” from Book of Travelers.  It was surprisingly touching that these men from an obscure rural Christian sect sang hymns with a Jewish guy from New York on a train.

The songs and stories he played were really beautiful.  And even though the overall mood of the show was somber, Kahane himself is witty and didn’t allow the night to become too heavy.  I am surprised he didn’t comment on how great the space was.  I was even delighted with the Exit signs.

He ended our night with a song that seemed appropriate for Valentine’s Day, “Little Love.”  Earlier he said that the day was a unicorn holiday because it was not only Valentine;s Day it was National Emergency Day [can we please impeach trump already?].  The song is pretty with a bittersweet sentiment “I hope we die here when are old.”

The performance was really lovely.  Kahanes voice and piano filled that amazing space ( I hope to see more shows there).  His voice is soft but with an impressive range.  While his guitar playing is nothing special, his piano playing is just amazing.  He has lovely melodies and plays beautiful trills and grace notes that never seem too fussy or ornate–just marvelous).

It proved to be a nice Valentine’s Day.

In addition the music, we arrived early enough to go to Jammin Crepes for dinner and the theater gave us chocolate hearts as we exited.

And we were home by 10:30!

SORTA SETLIST

1. Veda (1 Pierce Dr.)
2. Charming Disease
3. Model Trains
4. Friends of Friends of Bill
5. Baltimore
6. God’s Perfect Killing Machines
7. Martha Stewart (2nd Viennese School Remix)
8. Fleischlied für Mitt Romney
9. Marxist Peanut Allergy (for Robert Schumann)
10. Kyleplantemoji–He’s Nor Your Man
11. Ambassador Hotel (3400 Wilshire Blvd.)
12. Singing with a Stranger
13. 8980
14. What If I Told You
15. October 1, 1939
16. Port of Hamburg
17. encore
18. Little Love