Music at the mercy house

Last night we went to Anderson, IN for a show at the Mercy House (Isaac's church). Three pretty good bands - all playing different styles of music.

First was the Joel Levi band. They sounded really good - with Joel on guitar, backed by Graham on bass, a wild-haired Henry on drums, a sweet-voiced beauty on keys and backup vocals, someone on clarinet, and a very cool sounding cello. I really like Joel and his musical style is probably more what I'm accustomed to. He has an ability to connect with the audience that is hard for many to learn. He also made Jane and I cry.

Next was Dignan, a cool band from Texas. They used a bunch of different instruments - like violin, accordian, trumpet, but were still heavily bass and guitar. Very nice sound. I bought their cd and let them keep the change for gas money. They had a stage full of people dancing with them at the end. That was cool. These guys (and girl) seemed super nice, and HMA is actually playing shows with them in Indy Friday and Cincinnati Saturday. They met at the Cornerstone Music Festival this summer.

Dignan may have been the headliner, but Hiroshima, Mon Amour closed out the night with an awesome set. They sounded better than in Bluffton, and several people said this was the best they've sounded. They even survived Isaac blowing a cable - and kudos to the Dignan guy for jumping onstage to loan him one of his. I will admit, I don't *get* the scream thing.... but obviously a lot of people do, and I think they do it well. It is definitely better (to me) with their *ambient* sound than just straight hardcore.

The pic at right is of HMA setting up (Isaac is on the right with the hat, tie, and vest; Joel is on left, Graham in the middle, Aaron is obscured by the drum set, and Austin - the singer - is missing). The pics I took on my phone didn't turn out too well when the lights were out (like the one of HMA at the top), so it's hard to tell, but there was a really good crowd (I thought). All in all, a very nice night musically, but a bit sad in that it will be the last time we'll see Isaac, Graham and Aaron play together for awhile at least, and it was the last time we'll see Joan before she leaves today to move to D.C. These three guys have been playing together since 7th grade. Something to be said for that.