Brandi Carlile's "Bear Creek", a Review

You get home, turn on your laptop, open iTunes and begin to download a new CD. Then, you begin to listen to it and, if you are lucky, you get lost in the journey of music. It doesn’t matter who it is talking about, the situation it was inspired on, or why a song was written in the first place. Music has the distinct trait of making you feel, because you get to put your own story into it. This is what happened to me earlier this week when I listened to Brandi Carlile’s new CD: “Bear Creek”.

As many others, I discovered Brandi Carlile watching an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy”. After hearing a song in a very emotional scene I was compelled to learn more about her. So, naturally, I went to youtube and began listening to her music; I was instantly captivated. Something happened that I had never experienced before: her music appealed to me in a deeply personal level.

           

With four other CD’s under her belt (including a live one), Brandi Carlile and her band mates, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, return with “Bear Creek”, a production that Carlile has repeatedly said she is very proud of. It was all recorded in a little studio in the state of Washington, and like all her other CD’s, it was done in a very unique and intimate environment.

Most of the songs blew me away. They have that folky/rock/country vibe that is identifiable as Brandi’s style. Above that, it is a honest piece of work. Her voice has soul and in those screams, yodels and imperfections we get greatness. We see the best examples of this in songs like “I’ll Still Be There”, “Raise Hell” and “A Promise to Keep”. In those heartfelt and natural moments, you get to feel the emotions she is trying to convey. We get to feel heartbroken, melancholic, mad and hopeful as the music penetrates our soul. Not many people can do that.

Another cool thing that I noticed in “Bear Creek” is the voice of the twins. They are used more in this CD than it the others and I must say it sounds awesome; it adds personality to the songs like “A Hard Way Home”. I read somewhere their voices are made to sound like an incoming train, and it is a recurring thing in many of the tracks. Pay attention and you will notice it.

Other notable tracks are “That Wasn’t Me” (which by the way, is the first single), “100”, “Save Part of Yourself” and the song that I believe to be my favorite in the whole album: “Why Did I Ever Come Here For.”

All in all, “Bear Creek” is an excellent CD. It is complex. We can see Brandi and the twins putting themselves and their feelings out there, which makes the songs transcend. In a world in which a lot of the music has lost a lot of power in the sense that songs are forgettable, Brandi Carlile is a breath of fresh air. 

Evanescence Comes to México

Band Name: Evanescence.

Band Members:

Amy Lee – lead vocals, keyboards, harp.

Terry Balsamo – lead guitar.

Troy McLawhorn – rhythm guitar.

Tim McCord – bass.

Will Hunt – drums.

Tour: Evanescence Tour.

CD: Evanescence.

Evanescence is a band I have liked for many, many years. As a preteen, it introduced me to a new kind of music I didn’t know then, and I fell in love with it. So after almost five years of absence, I was excited to hear their new stuff.

“Evanescence” is a step up from “The Open Door”, but it doesn’t quite reach “Fallen”, “Origin” or their bootleg stuff that is very hard to find. After so much time, it was very refreshing to see how the band innovated and evolved with songs like “Swimming Home”. Also, many of the new songs have a techno feel to them, which is very interesting.

So, when I heard they were coming to Mexico I didn’t hesitate to buy tickets to the show. I had seen them when they came here on their “The Open Door” tour and it was a very good show, so I thought I would repeat the experience.

Apart from some evil and mean person stealing my phone, the show was incredible. Maybe a little short, but the energy of the crowd and of the performers made it very fun and enjoyable. People were very supportive of the band and it was very exciting to hear those epic songs live and Amy’s very distinctive and strong voice.

The stage was very simple, yet filled with lights that helped the music and performance grow. The only bad thing was the lack of screens as a visual aid. Even though, the show was very powerful and that power didn’t come from the lights, or the stage; it came from Amy Lee’s vocal performance and stage presence. She seemed happy to be there and that energy went directly into the way she performed the songs. Even when she was sitting at the piano, she managed to convey a lot of emotion with her voice.

The set list was mostly composed of songs from the new CD, but it also left space for some of the old favorites. They opened with the first single of their new CD “What You Want”, which instantly made the crowd go crazy.

One of the highlights, for me, happened when they played “Imaginary” which happens to be my favorite Evanescence song. They also played some of the fan favorites like “Lithium”, “Going Under” and “Bring Me To Life”. They played 18 songs, including the encore.

The encore and show finished with a performance of “My Immortal”, which Amy introduced in Spanish. The song managed to move the whole venue and there wasn’t a person who didn’t sing along. It was very moving and exciting.

It is very good to see Evanescence back with new music. I can only hope they keep doing it for many years to come. That way I can go and enjoy their concerts whenever they come to Mexico.

I'll leave you a clip of one of the songs played at this concert so you can see what I'm talking about.

Music, a Life Saver

Most people have a band, artist or musician that makes music so in tune with you that sometimes it can explain better than yourself what you are feeling.

For me, this person is Brandi Carlile. Her ability to put all her feelings into the way she sings, made me fall in love with her music. So here I share one of her songs that has become a very personal and important song in my life.

So enjoy and tell me what you think!