I remember this night well. The final Matrix film, Revelations, had been released on this day, and I had tickets for the Toby Lightman, Matt Nathanson and Howie Day show. I had been agonizing over which one I should attend, for about a week.

I have a habit of reading the local concert listing sites (such as Donewaiting Houston, SpaceCityRock and Super Unison) to see what's going on. If I see a band I don't know I usual Google them to check out a track or two. I've been going through this process for about 3 years now and I never run out of amazing new bands to go check out.

I'd discovered Toby this way about 3-4 weeks before this show. She hadn't even released a record yet - but there were about 4 songs up on her site that you could stream. I'd pretty much instantly fallen in love - Toby being an interesting blend of white girl pop with more then a dash of hip-hop and R&B sensibilities. Fiona Apple and Lauren Hill were two names that immediately sprang to mind. Sultry with a lyrical groove.

Need less to say I wanted to see her play in a bad way. I like Matt and Howie - but I was going to this show for Toby. Setting Matrix aside (after all, it was going to be in theatres for weeks...) I showed up at the venue, found Toby, gushed of my love and asked if I could tape the show. No problem was her sweet reply.

It was a great stripped down show - just Toby on the acoustic with lead guitar as accompaniment. 35 minutes later I was the happy owner of a Toby Coleman live show and of a free tour sampler. Sweet.

If you've never heard her give these tracks a try - and imagine this sweet, lil thing belting out these tunes with that huge voice. If you just want one to try I'd recommend either "Devils & Angels" or "Front Row" (which is a beautifully vicious dissection of a guy in the front row of one of her shows).

She's about to release her new record on 07/25/2006 and you can hear several preview tracks on her site - here. Definitely a different groove then the first record, More country and pop elements this time around. Also, she'll be touring during the summer with Train. Check her out. Take a loved one, they'll dig it.

Live MP3s
Time for a Change
The River
Live is Like
Devils & Angels
Front Row
Real Love