World Cafe Family Show (Philly) & Puck - Jan. 19, 2008

[paddyinthepub]

I bought a ticket to the Dragonfly Races......

Excited about the 2 shows this Saturday 1.19.08 in Philadelphia.

First up...the family show at World Cafe Live -- 1130am

Then, Puck Live in Doylestown, Pa. -- 830p

[KarenZ]

Paddy,

Excellent. Looking forward to full reports and photos.

KarenZ

[paddyinthepub]

The reports will be a breeze......

The photos -- I'll take 'em -- and post 'em -- with a lil help from my friends.

[paddyinthepub]

Just heard from a friend who will be attending this show with many little ones in tow.....

She rec'd this bit of info after purchasing tix online:

Greetings Peanut Butter and Jams fans!

The Paul Green School of Rock has invited you to a post Ellis Paul Concert at World Cafe Live!! Just show your ticket stub from the Ellis Paul Peanut Butter & Jams concert and get in free!!!

The Paul Green School of Rock presents: "Motown" : 1pm @ Upstairs Live - hear the best from groups like The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and more!

Special guest Cindy Birdsong of The Supremes will be in attendance, and will perform along with the School of Rock students on a couple of their songs.

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday!

World Cafe Live

[paddyinthepub]

Just read that the Saturday evening concert at Puck Live is SOLD OUT!!!

Go ELLIS...GO ELLIS...it's your Birthday!!!

So glad I got our tickets in advance.......

[paddyinthepub]

An early morning out for essentials had me stopping for gas, coffee, money, and something to get my son's motor running: donut holes, although Dunkin Donuts now refers to them as "munchkins."

Ellis entertained another kind of "munchkin" today over at World Cafe Live this morning in Philadelphia. The two to nine year old variety, including a couple of birthday parties. Just before Ellis' last song, 3 members of one family joined Ellis on stage and presented him with a gift -- and get this -- it was another remote controlled dragonfly. Knowing that Ellis received one like it at a show last week on his birthday, if this keeps up, something tells me that Ellis will not only be singing about "The Dragonfly Races" -- he'll be hosting a few of the races, too.

It was nice to see Ellis perform in this setting and notice how well he has adapted his between song banter to the young crowd he had before him today. He had them making "cat sounds" before he sang a note of today's opener. Had them close their eyes and imagine something old laying around the house. He spoke of George Mallory, the first man to climb Mt. Everest, and his famous answer as to why he wanted to climb to the top..."because it's there"

Ellis even had a little help from his friend Rachel when she joined him onstage to help lead the kids in pantomime moves as Ellis talked about the trip up from Virginia (past several monuments in our nation's capitol) followed by his fun new travelling song -- "Roadtrip" Rachel and the kids were so cute as they pretended to drive and wave each town " bye, bye, bye, bye, bye. They were even playing the part of "miles on the dash, doing backflips."

Ellis was looking and sounding good this morning, and seemed to have the crowd with him if not all, at least most of the way. At one point he was speaking in a soft whisper to the kids, and said in a hushed voice:

"isn't it something how kids seem to listen more intensely the softer you speak to them, as though they are aware that it might something important, and they wouldn't want to miss it." Too cute -- and so true.

Spoke to Ellis briefly after the show and comiserated a bit by saying the only thing that came to mind: "tough crowd!!!" He seemed to agree with a kind hearted chuckle.....adding that it was one of his best crowds to date. Told him we'd see him later tonight at Puck in Doylestown to which he replied something like "it'll be a little quieter."

Hang in there, Dusty!!!

At this family show, we heard:

The Cat Came Back
Because It's There
Wabi Sabi
I like to Swing (his daughter Ella is addicted)
Let's Go Ridin in the Car (Woody Guthrie)
Roadtrip (with Rachel as pantomime leader)
Bed Song
Million Chameleon March
This Land is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
If I Had a Hammer (acapella) (Pete Seeger)
Dragonfly Races
I've Been Working on the Railroad

Well, thanks for sticking around this long to read my account of the family show, the babysitter arrives in about an hour, and we're off to see Ellis in a venue that's new to us both, Puck Live in Doylestown, Pa.

I'd of had one more taker, a newbie who heard Ellis for the first time this morning. A few songs in and she looked over and said:

He's got a great voice!!!

Alas, tonight's show is SOLD OUT!!!

[AndaleOrbea]

Dear Paddy!

Thanks so much for the show report! I can't believe you had time to post something between shows! And such a vivid report! I was hanging on ever word. (I'll stop with the exclamation points...)

Only a few things better than pantomining [sp?] Road Trip during a show just to make Ellis laugh during his set.

I wonder how many dragonflies Ellis is going to receive because of his song???

Thanks again for the report.
Dean

[KarenZ]

Paddy!

I concur! Thanks for the report....and for squeezing it in before heading out again! Looking forward to hearing about the adult show as well.

KarenZ

[paddyinthepub]

Good morning all!!!

Saturday night's Ellis Paul show at Puck in Doylestown was memorable on so many levels. Did my best to put it down in words for you all last night.

The "ghost in the machine" ate my homework..... for when I'd said most all I could think to say about this one, I hit submit only to see a message that i needed to log in in order to post.

Gone!!!

Shame,too, it was a doozy of a show -- with a recap to match!!!

"paddy style"

I'll do my best to get a review up a little later.

[AndaleOrbea]

Dear Paddy:

I know what you mean. At one point, I hit the backspace key at the wrong time (for the third time on the same posting! Ugh!) and lost my report - not a ghost-in-the-machine thing for me, just operator error... At that point I decided to write it in MS Word, then copy it to the board so my slippery fingers wouldn't betray me again.

Totally looking forward to your show report!

Regards,
Dean

[paddyinthepub]

For those who have waited patiently for this newsflash...thanks.

Little Wood Guitar featured pecan pie and dissecting my life.

I tell ya, there was so much love and laughter in the room at Ellis' sold out show at Puck Live on Saturday night that I wanted to try and make myself laugh just once more as I begin to try and recapture all the wonderful things about the night. Just think of me as a fly on the wall.

We arrived extra early to secure good seats and were rewarded for doing so over and over. For quite awhile there were only 4 people in the place: Ellis and Rachael (at the bar) -- me and the missus (seated up front and stage left.) It gave us wonderful sightlines all night long -- of fans and how they sit and listen so quietly -- and sometimes not so quietly (OH YEAH'!!! guy's voice fills the room and completely cracks Ellis up) -- and to the interplay between Ellis and a number of folks sitting right up front.

As fans filed in and found the best seats they could, we were fortunate to have two of Ellis' long time fans seated right beside us. In no time at all we learned they were there celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Don't ask me how.... ....but somehow Ellis was made aware of their love of his music and their love for each other and he managed mid show to send out a very sweet tribute to them. The really funny thing happened when he laid eyes on them for the first time, at the tribute. You see, they had met really young...she 21..he 17. And some people just age really, really well. Like these two lovebirds. So when Ellis sent the tribute out to Jean and Greg, he told the crowd they were here tonight celebrating their 20th anniversary. Then Ellis laid eyes on them for the first time, and you could tell he was surprised. "Wait a minute, you guys don't look old enough to be celebrating 20 years." "How old are you, anyway?" To which she offered, proudly: "I'm 47, he's 42." Ellis, tuning his guitar for the next song and pondering the point, looked their way again and said soft and sweetly: "nicely done." A roar of laughter and applause rose up all around the room.

It was that way all night. The party of 8 up front included a married couple who shared the news they were expecting triplets. Can you say snippy, snippy? Ellis could, and did. He had singled out the dad to be earlier, asking if "affirmation guy" was here tonight? He was there, alright.

"OH YEAH" was his signature cheer after every song Ellis played. Well, almost every song. After Ellis' first piano song, the big guy made the mistake of getting up to leave the table. Noticing his hasty exit Ellis pretended to speak for the big fellow and offered: "I've had enough of this sappy love song stuff, I'm going to get me some Whiskey and Beef!!

The night's opener, Nicole Reynolds, standing at 4 ft. sumpthin got the night off to a most interesting start. You could sense the crowd was not quite sure what to make of her size and presence on the stage. Looking around the room as she sang the first few words I could see that some folks looked at each other with disbelief as her voice was a unique blend of soft and sweet. In the second song, someone must have tried to start a conversation somewhere in the crowd and they were quickly ssshed into silence. You could hear a pin drop the rest of the way, that is until each song would end. Thunderous applause erupted as our collective musical appreciation kicked into gear. She had won the crowd over. At one point in between songs Nicole apologized to the people seated in the back who may not be able to see her up on stage. She assured them that Ellis, who she was also a big fan of, was a good 2 feet taller than she was, and they would be able to see him just fine....

Ellis started in the usual way......and after the first song told the crowd that they seemed unusually quiet. He seemed to agree with the crowd that Nicole Reynolds was really good...maybe too good. That she had us in some kind of a trance. He was going to have to find a song to play that would snap us out of it. It was all too funny, and a fun way to start off the night. The song he chose, Walking After Midnight, was just the thing and I'll take this opportunity to say I absolutely love the way Ellis has Sam Baker's "Things Change" in the song.

Requests flew when asked for, and every time Ellis seemed to have somethng else in mind. He said he'd get to those other songs, maybe tonight, maybe next week. Some he just wasn't feeling. Some he just wasn't remembering, adding at one point: "the memory just ain't what it used to be." One request came from an obvious (to me) female fan sitting fairly close. When she asked for The World Ain't Slowing Down Ellis seemed to recognize her voice which led to him asking her where she was from -- and when she said "Maryland" -- Ellis suggested with THAT accent -- perhaps it was SOUTHERN Maryland. Too funny -- and it was nice to see her and her table full of partners in Ellis Paul crime pantomiming all the right moves while Ellis performed Roadtrip from the Dragonfly Races.

Ellis talked about his new record aimed at kids and their parents and grandparents and mentioned the family show earlier in the day at World Cafe Live in Philly. He told the crowd he had been heckled by 5 year olds. He got a big laugh when he tried to get the crowd to understand the dilemna he finds himself in -- the position of entertaining kids -- with the deadpan line: " All of a sudden, I'm Raffi" as if to say how the heck did this happen? He sang us back a Raffi line....

"Baby Beluga in the deep blue sea"

The absolute best laughter inducing line of the night -- when Ellis is about to play Million Chameleon March and sort of explains what the song is about. Then Ellis deadpans: They Want Change. If you've been paying attention to the candidates for president lately, you realize just how poignant the statement is.....and comical.

Which brings me to a part of the show that was both hilarious and at one point, well, uncomfortable. Ellis treated us to the new crowd pleasing and audience involving song "Calendar Man" in all it's NC-17 rated glory. But then, someone in the crowd felt the need to set the "calendar man" straight on something. Ellis had just finshed the verse for Yom Kippor which has the ryhme "now what's that for?" and ends with "let's passover that one." Suddenly a woman up front and off to the side -- in a matter of fact and somewhat annoyed sounding voice -- said to Ellis "Yom Kippor is the day of atonement for Jews." Ellis seemed to understand her reason for bringing it up -- and quickly responded by singing -- somewhat nervously -- "I'm really going to have some atoning to do for that verse of the song."

Now I'm not sure at all that she was offended by the verse, but it sure felt that way at the time. I felt for Ellis as it had to be a bit disconcerting to have an audience member offer an explanation of a religious holiday that Ellis was having fun with. But here's the punchline...and for me, one of the highlights of the night. Keep in mind....I'm just a fly on the wall here.

Ellis' closing number, before the encores was "9 months to fix the world" and sent out to the couple up front, you remember them, "affirmation guy" and his lovely wife. They had shared the news they were expecting triplets. He asked the couple there celebrating their 20th anniversary if they had kids -- yes -- 2 kids -- a boy and a girl -- ages 17 and 14.

"Well done" Ellis whispered into the microphone just before breaking into the song that voices his concerns for the ills of the world we live in -- as he learns he is to become a parent for the first time. The stage lighting shining softly on the face of the mother-of-triplets-to-be. The way she seems to listen with a knowing that Ellis' concerns will all too soon be her concerns, too.

And when Ellis gets to the part of the song where he talks about religions and no matter where your feet may land -- he shifted his body and eyes and guitar and words ever so gently and ever so subtley in the direction of the woman who had set him straight on one of our planet's religions.

Thanks for a great day.....and night....Ellis.

Oh..one more thing. WORDS was a constant request towards the end of the evening. Ellis obliged, with reservation. He nailed the first verse and chorus....lost it in the second verse....I helped with a couple of words when he drew the proverbial blank before he lost it again and decided it was time to take it "back to the chorus." It was a noble effort. It got me thinking and on the way out Ellis and I had a laugh about the possibilty of us all chipping in and getting him a teleprompter. I told him all the famous acts were using them these days. He suggested maybe a GPS system would work that could feed him lyrics. We laughed at the idea and I said to him finally, can you imagine hitting a button mid song and KarenZ feeds you lyrics anywhere in the world.

We had a blast.....and heard:

Maria's Beautiful Mess
Walkin After Midnight/Things Change
Jukebox on my Grave
Alice's Champagne Palace
Once Upon A Summertime -- on piano
I Can't Catch The Rain -- on piano
3000 Miles
Take All The Sky You Need
Little Wood Guitar -- cowritten with friend Kristian Bush of Sugarland
Million Chameleon March -- They Want Change
Home -- on piano

Ellis sends out the tribute to Jean and Greg on their 20th anniversary.

The World Ain't Slowing Down -- I like that he played this one here...it fit.
Angel In Manhattan (request) ep speaks of radio play around 9-11.
She's History -- on piano
Roadtrip -- table of folks near us....driving....waving...backflipping.
Calendar Man
Blacktop Train -- in the audience
9 months to fix the world

Words -- encore
The Night Hank Williams came to town -- final song

Ellis seemed truly overwhelmed and overcome with emotion with what had just transpired at this show -- his very first -- at Puck Live in Doylestown. The amount of love pouring from the audience toward the stage via applause was immense. (Do not tell Ellis I said this but I think he may have had a senior moment. ) He thanked everyone for coming out and said he would love it if he could come back in the future and do it again. Earlier in the evening, knowing that some folks were turned away at the door, Ellis had told the audience: "I'm glad ya'll got in." He also apologized for the fact that some folks did not get in. He said next time around he would try to do 2 shows. He thanked the sound guy for what was a truly great sounding concert and the Puck Live folks as well for having him and said again that he looked forward to doing it again sometime, soon.

OH YEAH!!!

[Patti]

Great review Paddy, I've signed on few times to read it and thought...when is going to post something.. it was worth the wait!!


Are you going to see Lori and Mark next weekend??!!

[KarenZ]

Terrific report Paddy! Sounds like a show not to have missed!

Jeff from Out With the Kids posted a blog report of the kids' show that took place earlier in the day at the World Cafe. His report includes a video snippet of Ellis and Rachel doing "Road Trip". (Scroll down to the entry for Jan. 20, 2008.)

http://outwiththekids.blogspot.com

KarenZ

[monicar]

Paddy, you have such a way with words, that I felt like I was right there in the audience!

Thanks so much. Sounds like one for the memory books!

Monica R.

[paddyinthepub]

Thanks everyone...always a pleasure.

Although the truth is this one hurt just a little. I'll explain:

With 2 shows in one day under my belt, I was whooped the morning after. It was Sunday, and I was utterly and completely spent -- yet I knew that the show at Puck Live deserved my attention here. I put it off all day long -- spending the day recovering by siezing several opportunities to catnap -- mixed in with watching the NFL Championship games.

Patriots were a given.....Eli Manning's Giants an exciting surprise!!!

Okay, I said to myself -- after the Giants place kicker practiced the art of "3rd times a charm" and kicked the winning field goal -- I have no more excuses. Go knock it out.

Without the aid of my trusty reading glasses(up to a respectable 2.0 thank you very much)....reading and writing -- or posting in this case -- is not much fun. I'm a stickler for detail and will try my best to spell it right. Trouble is I can't edit as easily when the letters are slightly blurred.

And the strain on the eyes, well.....it's a strain. But I had to get it down while it was still fresh.....and I sat down and laid it down. It was pouring out and I was coming as close to capturing it as I could. A great deal of time passed before I felt it was worthy of posting. In that time, without knowing it, I must have timed out of my logged in status. Which meant of course that when I tried to submit the post I would be asked to log in again. That sort of thing has happened before and usually it's no biggie. I can backspace and retrieve the post....copy and paste it back in...and set.

YOUCH!!! That was the painful part. It was nowhere to be found. I spent an hour looking for it all over my computer. Gone....dang nabbit.

I didn't have it in me to do it again. My eyes, head, and heart, hurt.

So I did the only thing i could do....give up the ghost. I went to bed and figured I'd give it a go on Monday. With life calling....I spent the day feeling a little guilty knowing I had to get back here and talk about this show.

Got a new pair of reading glasses.....

monicar -- not sure if it's not the other way around in that I think that words have their way with me.... but thanks for the kind words of support and I'm glad you enjoyed my recap.

Patti -- I felt your pain....believe me. I've been there. Sorry it took awhile to get it up there....but I think it's a little clearer why. The answer to Lori McKenna on the 25th is a definite maybe. Thanks for the reminder I need to see about tickets. I tell ya it's atough call with my old musical hero John Gorka playing in Wilmington, Delaware on the same night. I think Lori and Mark win out though as John has shows in Philly in February.

Karen.....I finally felt your pain -- mentioned often here after your whirlwind trips to see Ellis around the country -- most recently your apologies after trying to recover from the NYE shows at Club Passim. Now I get it.....even though my experience paled in comparison regarding time and travel and trying to recover from an extended Ellis Paul concert experience. So much to say...so little time. Thanks for the link to the Kid's show in Philly. That guy captured it so eloquently and in so few words. Very cool to see the video with Rachel leading the kids on Roadtrip.

Before I wave bye, bye, bye, bye, bye......I just want to add:

Dean, thanks for the inspiration over the weekend to get back to the computer and get some of this down in a way that might help others know what it's like to be in the audience of an Ellis Paul concert. I see Ellis out there connecting with his audiences in a way that few can. I see him out there doing a family show and wondering afterwards what it's going to take to truly connect with the kids at this level. It's not an easy thing to do. We talked about it a bit after the kid's show...and again before the evening show. The songs are great, and collectively some the catchiest and most direct songs he's written in 15 years. He's knows it's not a given that this whole thing will take flight in the way that he hopes it will. It's a challenge to engage kids of this age group in concert. Especially when the songs are totally new to them. He sees their faces light up when he sings a cover song like Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" or Let's Go Driving in the Car." We figured exposure to the songs beforehand might help the kids relate a little more -- upping the fun factor (if you will) at these family shows.

Hat's off to EP -- He reminds me at times of Dusty, the Dragonfly

Go Dusty Go!!!

[AndaleOrbea]

Oh Paddy! Thanks for the awesome report, and for helping to feel like I was there, too.

Now I know why Ellis starts off 'Calendar Man' by saying 'If you're not offended by this song there's something wrong with you.' One time I heard a woman in Kentucky try to correct Ellis while he was singing the Yom Kippur part of the song. Oh My, that was a tough night...
Dean