I realize that the Shoot With Personality blog is starting to look like “Looking for Alaska Central” these days. But I am A-OK with that!
The latest in Shoot With Personality’s LFA coverage is the show they played this past weekend to kick off the release of their first full-length album, “There Is Hope.”
As a someone who is good friends with this band (well, with members of this band…) I have been looking forward to their album release since they recorded it this summer. I was even more excited when they set the date for its release. And more more MORE excited as the date (October 22) approached. If I felt this way, I imagine the guys in the band were just plain over the moon as October 22 neared!
One thing that was very cool about this show was its opening act: Jim Cannon, grandfather of the irrepressible Josh Cannon (LFA member/superfan of Shoot With Personality.) I think we all especially enjoyed the duet Jim and Josh did, as well as when Jim performed that little ditty “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” The latter song required crowd participation, and Paw Paw Cannon actually got the crowd of young whippersnappers to participate!
The Star Killers played next,. They are another great band I started seeing at Smithseven shows this summer. The Star Killers has a petite red head with a BIG voice as their frontwoman, and they’ve pretty much killed it every time I’ve seen them play. The LFA show was no exception.
I’ll level with ya folks: there was a more metalcore/hardcore band who played after The Star Killers, and I am sure they were lovely but…as Mr. Chad Turner put it, “Amanda Raney 2003 would have been in there fighting the pit to take pictures.” Amanda Raney 2011 wasn’t so much doing that…Maybe next time though!
And onto the main event (for me): Looking for Alaska!
I hadn’t realized this would be the case before arriving at the show that night, but LFA played the new album in it’s ENTIRETY. I thought it would have been a funny joke if they said “We’re going to play every song on the album tonight,” and then brought a boom box on stage and pushed play. You know, instead of actually playing all their songs live? Get it??? But I digress…Luckily for those of us in attendance, that was not the case!
It was probably one of the longest sets I’ve seen a band play at a local show, but with LFA, this is a good thing. A very good thing indeed. I was happy with everything I heard, the guys played their hearts out, and the crowd seemed to respond very positively to all that was going on up there on the stage.
As the band finished their final song and started putting up their instruments, something unexpected happened…Chad began playing the old hymn “Be Thou My Vision” (a favorite hymn of many in our social circle.) I was used to this sort of thing because I have gone to several churches with Chad where he’s led music, but I am sure for many in the audience this was a new experience. I know it wasn’t something that the band had planned, but it was powerful. I hope no one involved minds that I’m adding this part to my blog about the show, but I had to. Everyone was so moved. You could hear voices from people in the crowd, singing along with the hymn. It was an intensely personal moment being shared by a room full of people, and I’d say it was the perfect ending to this band’s CD release show.
And now….on to the pictures! Click on through to ’em below!
Jim Cannon. The Star Killers. Looking for Alaska. Oct. 22 ’11 @ The Abbey. Memphis, TN.
(Pssssst. In addition to gushing over my friends, I am also into giving shameless plugs for them…Looking for Alaska‘s album is available at Amazon and iTunes. Get on it!)