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An Evening With Josh Ritter

The Venue

First off, in my opinion, the National Hispanic Cultural Center is a treasure. This night specifically, the Albuquerque Journal Theater was a wonderful intimate space to experience live music. Thanks to Neal Copperman, AMP Concerts and DCF for the great seats!

National Hispanic Cultural Center

The Show

I went to this show a virgin, having never heard of Josh Ritter or any of his music. I love live music, and sometimes this is the best way to be introduced to an artist. The show opened with an odd but engaging performer, Mysterious Pete (I think was his name), and his guitar. Apparently not much of a speaker, he had some flash cards prepared to thank the audience for applause. He warmed us up for about half an hour, and then the usual few minutes before the lights go down for the main performance…

Neal Copperman Opening the Show

Mysterious Pete (?)

Josh Ritter and his band do not disappoint. You get the vibe that this group of musicians loves to perform and lives for the two-hour set. The music was mostly tight, but not overproduced, i.e. had a nice “live” edge to it. The show moved in waves from comical, humorous, thoughtful, profound, melancholy, haunting.

Often when you hear a song for the first time, you find something that you like, melody, the bridge, whatever… I have to say I was blown away by the poetic lyrics, performed by an engaging singer-songwriter…

I'm still waiting for the whiskey to whisk me away
And I'm still waiting for the ashra to lead me astray
- Other Side

She asks "Are you cursed?"
He says "I think that I'm cured."
Then he kissed her and hoped
That she'd forget that question
- The Curse

Paul said to Peter you got to rock yourself a little harder
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire
But I got a girl in the war Paul her eyes are like champagne
They sparkle bubble over and in the morning all you got is rain
- Girl in the War

I’ve already got three other AMP Concerts on my calendar: Cowboy Junkies on June 20, TradiSon (a Cuban band) on July 11 and Over the Rhine on July 30-31.

Tags: AMP Concerts, Josh Ritter, National Hispanic Cultural Center

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Comment by Arthur Miller on June 24, 2010 at 10:06am: What a great show! My girlfriend dragged me along. Glad she insisted.

Comment by Ron Da Bomb on June 24, 2010 at 12:16pm: That's kinda funny. I dragged my girlfriend along. Folk rock isn't quite her cup of tea. She enjoyed the show in spite of herself!

Comment by AriesSweet on June 24, 2010 at 10:59pm: Yes in spite of myself (the ultimate headbanger) I really enjoyed the show. The opening act was at times odd but very talented. One who loves music can appreciate his unique style. I too, having been dragged to the show and never have heard of Josh Ritter, I was pleasantly surprised. Live music is my favorite way to experience it. A good live show is one where the artist loves to perform and doesn't over produce. The Josh Ritter band did just this. It was a fun show.

Comment by Dianne P. on June 25, 2010 at 12:02am: I love Josh Ritter. I'm so sad that I had to be out of town for work and missed the show.

Comment by Ron Da Bomb on June 25, 2010 at 1:06pm: I ended up missing Cowboy Junkies, but am definitely gonna check out TradiSon and Over the Rhine. AriesSweet, are you up for some more non-headbanging music??

Comment by Rusty Rutherford on June 30, 2010 at 5:12pm: Awesome! Check out his song "Come and Find Me" if you haven't heard it yet. I was disappointed he didn't perform it, but other than that it was a sweet show!