Josh Groban Illuminations - First Listen

Josh Groban's first album in 4 years, Illuminations released this week. I downloaded it Monday night from Amazon and listened on the plane ride home from Atlanta. I have to say, I'm really impressed. I'd say the time that was taken to make this album was absolutely worth it. Wandering Kind, an instrumental prelude sets the tone of the album - its just a very pretty piece, with piano and strings and it gets you ready to hear the story that Groban has to share. I can actually see this used by a figure skater for a short program piece.

Ryan Star w/Hope & Days Difference - Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge 11.8.2010

Last Monday night I headed into Boston to see Ryan Star play a headlining show at the Middle East, which for me started off a busy week. When I saw a show in NJ appear the following night, I was hoping there'd be a Boston show, and was hoping that it'd be before I left for Atlanta that Wednesday night. Sure enough, a few days later, the Boston show was announced and I was psyched to see that it would be indeed that Monday, and not that Wednesday.  Doors opened at 8, and once I got into the venue I was surprised at how tiny it was, but it's a great space. The acoustics were great all night, and I'm really not sure how Ryan and his whole band fit onto the tiny stage!

Josh Groban - Hidden Away Video

The video for Hidden Away, Josh Groban's first single off of his upcoming album Illuminations and his first video in 4 years premiered on Popeater.com yesterday. Groban talks about the song and the video, saying the song is "about people needing the kind of life shaken out of them," Groban explains. "It's about people who are waiting for that release. It could be somebody coming home from work, a friend -- but the song itself is about people who need to be woken up inside."

Fans should expect more videos for tracks off Illuminations. "I think these songs really lend themselves to music videos," Groban says. "They're very personal stories for me and so my quest in making videos in the future is try and make videos that visually more and more match the mood of the song." 

Josh will be performing some small shows leading up to the release of the album on November 15. I'll be doing a full recap of the album when I get it, so be on the lookout for that. From everything I've heard, I'm really excited to hear it.

Check out the video here!

Jimmy Gnecco w/Plain Jane Automobile - Don Hills, NYC 10.2.10

I was pretty stoked when this show was announced, as I try to get down to NYC/NJ for Jimmy's shows when I can swing it, and being on a Saturday night, there was really no excuse not to make plans to go. I talked Lisa into coming with me (it didn't take much convincing, honestly) and that Saturday once she got out of class, we headed to NYC. I called Bill when we arrived so he could come down and show us where to park as he let us park in his neighborhood- and let me tell you, trying to find a parking space in New York is an entertaining experience. After driving around for about a half hour, we finally found one and parked and hightailed it to the subway to get where we were staying.