Here's the companion set to the Mike Doughty show from Poor David's Pub in Dallas, Texas on February 20th, 2010.

The lovely Christina Courtin opened the show, singing and playing the violin while her friend (and album contributor) Ryan Scott provided an acoustic guitar backing. For those of you who haven't heard of Christina, she's a New York based, Julliard graduate who has been called the next Norah Jones, though I personally think that she brings the best of Regina Spektor's oddities and mixes it with her own unique dreamyness.

Her self-titled debut album released last year on Nonesuch Records doesn't hint at potential greatness, rather it delivers it. Recorded with a mix of awesome musicians (including the incomparable Jon Brion), the album jumps back and forth amongst a mix of music stylings, including folk, pop, and smatterings of country, but even when you think it's on the verge of rocking out (see the last minute or so of Bundah) on her MySpace her delicate voice brings it back to a more gentle crescendo.

The live show was just as good as her record, while allowing her a little more space. More stripped down, the live setting seemed to let Christina let loose a bit more than the production perfect constraints of a studio recording and bounce back and forth between the quiet and louder moments. And though Christina didn't play any of the actual violin parts on her record, she pulled her violin out for the live show and played beautifully on every song.

Check out the show below, and buy her album here. She's currently on tour with Mike Doughty, and will then head back to Texas for NX35 in Denton, and SXSW in Austin. Be sure to check her out!

Live MP3 MP3s:
Intro
Green Jay
Bundah
Foreign Country
February
Lenore
Blue Collar Man
Outro

Tour Dates:
Feb 27 2010 Cave Creek Coffee Company & Wine Purveyor Cave Creek, Arizona
Mar 3 2010 Anthology San Diego, California
Mar 4 2010 The Troubador West Hollywood, California
Mar 5 2010 Soho Santa Barbara, California
Mar 6 2010 Slim’s San Francisco, California
Mar 7 2010 House Concert at The Roost Carmel, California
Mar 11 2010 NX35 Festival Denton, Texas
Mar 17 2010 SXSW, venue TBA Austin, Texas
Apr 7 2010 Joe’s Pub Happy Ending Music and Reading Series New York
Apr 7 2010 Sing SOS Autism Benefit @ The Bitter End New York

Labels: christina courtin, dallas, indie, live mp3s, poor davids pub, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

I've been waiting for, literally, years to see Mike Doughty (former leader singer of Soul Coughing) play a live show.

I had been moderately impressed by Soul Coughing, back in their hey-day in the mid to late 90s, but it wasn't until I heard Mike Doughty's 2005 solo record, Haughty Melodic, on Dave Matthew's ATO Records label that I became a true believer. On Haughty Melodic, Mike still employed his trademark partly sung, partly spoken word style of delivery, but now it was over unabashed pop as opposed the fusion of hip hop, jazz, rock and folk that defined Soul Coughing.

The follow up to Haughty Melodic, 2008 Golden Delicious cemented me as a huge fan, and I spent the better part of the last half of 2008 listening to that record on repeat. For some reason (or maybe I just missed it), there was no Texas shows for the Golden Delicious tour. In late 2009 Mike released Sad Man, Happy Man and announced a tour that actually included a veritable slew of Texas dates.

So, last night I got to see Mike Doughty play at the best "listening room" venue in Dallas, Poor David's Pub, and it was an absolutely fantastic experience. Rather than bringing a full band, Mike played his acoustic accompanied only by cello (and occasional electric guitar player) Andrew "Scrap" Livingston playing for a full hour and half. The set pulled from all of his solo records (everything mentioned above, along with choice cuts from his early releases, Skittish and Rockity Roll) as well as Soul Coughing hit, Circles. Keeping things interesting he even kept dropping in moments of hilarity by answering dozens of extremely random questions that audience members dropped into a "Question Jar" before the show began.

To wrap everything up, he had an excellent opening act, Christina Courtin and sold copies of a recording of the show, at the end of the evening.

He's on tour for the next month (dates below) - check out a few tracks from the show and be sure to check him out if he comes to your town.

Live MP3 MP3s:
27 Jennifers
Circles
I Hear The Bells
White Lexus

Tour Dates:
Tue 02/23/10 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Brewing Company
Wed 02/24/10 Albuquerque, NM The Cooperage
Fri 02/26/10 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
Sat 02/27/10 Cave Creek, AZ Cave Creek Coffee Co.
Wed 03/03/10 San Diego, CA Anthology
Thu 03/04/10 West Hollywood, CA Troubadour
Fri 03/05/10 Santa Barbara, CA Soho Restaurant & Music Club
Sat 03/06/10 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Sun 03/07/10 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
Tue 03/09/10 Eugene, OR WOW Hall
Wed 03/10/10 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
Thu 03/11/10 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
Fri 03/12/10 Seattle, WA The Triple Door
Sat 03/13/10 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
Tue 03/16/10 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
Wed 03/17/10 Denver, CO The Walnut Room
Fri 03/19/10 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
Sat 03/20/10 Minneapolis, MN Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
Sat 03/27/10 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
Fri 04/23/10 Cambridge, MA Regattabar
Sat 04/24/10 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge

Labels: dallas, indie, live mp3s, mike doughty, poor davids pub, soundboard mp3s, tour dates

So do I need to tell you about Abra again?

Read this, this, this and this to learn (a lot) more about my favorite Texas artist, Ms Abra Moore.

I had the honor of catching her last weekend at the acoustically outstanding Poor Davids Pub in the Lamar area of downtown Dallas. She was touring in support of her new record, On The Way, and even though I've seen her at least a dozen other times over the last decade, I can firmly say that this was the most intimate and most beautiful performance yet.

Accompanied by Will Sexton, who played subtle and atmospheric guitar parts, Abra played over an hour and a half of songs from all four of her solo albums. The new tracks from the On The Way were especially powerful, my favorite being the opener Sugarite.

If you have a chance to check her out, don't miss it - its a magical experience.

Live Shows:
Jun 30 Cactus Cafe Austin, TX 8 PM
July 5 KFAN Fredericksburg, TX 3:30PM
July 8 WXRV's Riverfront Festival Newburyport, MA
July 28 Go Bar Athens, GA
Aug 21 Borders/WBJB Emerging Artist Series Eatontown, NJ
Aug 22 Sellersville Theater Sellersville, PA
Aug 25 The Living Room New York, NY 10 PM
Aug 27 WUMB Boston, MA noon
Aug 27 WMVY Martha's Vineyard, MA 5 PM
Aug 27 The Dock Martha's Vineyard, MA 9 PM
Sept 10 WYCE Festival Grand Rapids, MI

Live MP3s:
Sugarite
Taking Chances
After All These Years
Birthday Song
Happiness
Ku'u Ome O Kahaluu
4 Leaf Clover
You
Into the Sunset
If You Want Me To
Shining Star
Family Affair
Step Without Looking
I Believe
Take Care of Me

Labels: concerts, dallas, indie, live mp3s, poor davids pub, soundboard mp3s