03.27.2011 - Amos Lee @ The Murat Egyptian Room
April 5, 2011
The Murat Egyptian Room
Indianapolis, IN
‘The Secret Sisters opened up for Amos Lee. They are a couple of real-life sisters from Alabama, and their music leans toward the more traditional country style. As I’ve said before about siblings who sing together, they have such great harmonies. It just seems to come so naturally. One of my favorite of their tunes is “Why Baby Why”. I’m looking forward to seeing them when they open for Brandi Carlile and Ray LaMontagne later this year. If you’re going to see that show, make sure you get there early to check out these singing sisters.
Amos Lee has one of those voices that I could just sit and listen to all day and not get sick of. He reminds me a little of Ray LaMontagne – the soulfulness in his sound, so much emotion conveyed through each twisting, turning lyric. The sell-out crowd at The Murat Egyptian Room was beyond thrilled when Amos took the stage. The people in the audience were so diverse – everyone from older couples to teenagers in skinny jeans showed up, and all were very respectful and polite throughout the show. There were so many “I love you, Amos” shouts from the crowd that I lost count after a while. I wonder if an artist ever gets tired of hearing that…
Amos kicked off his set with “El Camino”. He kept things flowing with songs like “Bottom of the Barrel” and “Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight”, which seemed to be a fan favorite. For some reason, I expected a more intimate show, so I was surprised at the size of the band on stage with Amos – guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, pedal steel, and two backup singers that switched in and out depending on the song. It was a pleasant surprise though, everyone sounded so great and added so much to the performance.
Amos Lee did carve out a portion in the middle of his set for a few solo acoustic songs, starting with an unreleased song “Simple Things”, which was really beautiful. He then did a John Prine cover “Sabu Visits the Twin Cities Alone”, which I’d never heard before. Another touching song with a great story is “Stay With Me”, which Lee wrote for a young man he visited in Kent, Ohio who was ill. He actually went to his home to play for him because he was too sick to make it to the show. Shortly after Amos Lee wrote the song for him, he learned that he had passed away. Very sad story, but it says so much about how strangers can enter our lives and affect us in such a profound way.
Two of my personal favorite Amos Lee songs were saved for the end of the show, just before the encore – “Windows are Rolled Down” and “Arms of a Woman”. I fell in love with “Windows are Rolled Down” the first time I heard it. It gets stuck in my head on a daily basis. Great song, and even better hearing it live- not to mention interesting to learn that it was written about Amos' failed romance with a girl from Wisconsin. A few song encore after these greats included a cover of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready for the Country”. All around fantastic night – easy to see why Amos Lee sold out a large venue in the city!
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