4.22.2010 - Martin Sexton and Ryan Montbleau @ The Vogue
April 26, 2010
The Vogue
Indianapolis, IN
When we arrived at The Vogue for Martin Sexton, there was a line forming outside, but it was substantially shorter than the line that formed for Clutch, thank goodness. After our eyes adjusted to the dim lighting inside, we noticed the most welcomed surprise - they had moved some of the tall tables and stools down from the balcony to the floor, a matter of feet from the stage. And there, off to stage right, was an open one! Finally the lovely combination of experiencing the music from the floor and saving our feet from the pain caused by 4+ hours shifting back and forth on them!
So the bouncers decide to just close the balcony since there weren't all that many tickets sold for this show. Which I can't blame them for doing, but I'd bet that everyone could have had a seat if they had allowed people to go upstairs. And interestingly enough, we weren't met with the metal detectors and strict ID policies that we were becoming accustomed to at The Vogue...plus actual beer bottles were handed out during the evening, instead of pouring it into a plastic cup. Certainly says something about at least the perception of hard rock/rap crowds vs. singer/songwriter crowds...
There were downfalls, however, to choosing the seated option, to be discussed in detail later...
Ryan Montbleau is up first. His sound is very old-timey/jazzy. He had what seems to be a typical five piece band set-up - keyboard/drums/bass/fiddle/guitar. Ryan is a great guitar player, and beyond that, had the ability to keep up great Jason Mraz-esque (if we can make that a word for a second) wittiness between songs. Martin Sexton actually produced Ryan Montbleau's latest album, and they have toured together before. Ryan is a great entertainer, with some very catchy tunes. Some highlights from his setlist:
- Songbird
- Grain of Sand
- 75 and Sunny - From the album Sexton produced
Then came Martin Sexton (whom we heard a few audience members refer to as "Marty", like a favorite uncle). If you aren't familiar with Martin Sexton's music - the guy has a big voice, and can even act as a human drum-kit when necessary. He doesn't require a band at all, but integrated the Ryan Montbleau band into some of his songs seamlessly. Martin's singer/songwriter style definitely has a blues and soul vibe to it. He's a great musician, and kept the audience engaged and entertained throughout the entire set plus an encore. Some highlights from his set:
- Can't Stop Thinking About You
- Chasin' Dreams - About a guy quitting a high-paid job to do the job he always dreamed of as a kid.
- Stick Around
- My Faith Is Gone - Sexton wrote this when he was a hungry street-singer in Cambridge in 1991, and the government told them they couldn't sing on the streets anymore.
- Beast in Me - This was part of the encore, and he broke into a version of "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" by The Jackson's in the middle.
A great show...with some low points involving the crowd, which was surprising. As I mentioned earlier, one downside to snagging a table was that it naturally became a gathering point for others, so at one point we had two converging groups of people surrounding us. They were also chatting loudly throughout the entire show - which is still a phenomenon I have yet to understand, though it happens everywhere. Why pay money for a concert if you really just want to drink and catch up with friends? And having a horizontal surface in front of you in a bar means it becomes a place for everyone to dump their empties. Rude. But I guess we shouldn't complain - a mere 5 days prior to the Martin Sexton show, we were watching Clutch concert-goers being dragged off of that same floor for moshing too violently. We'll certainly settle for the Sexton crowd any day...
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