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Meiko at Loring Pasta Bar, Minneapolis
photo above courtesy of Meiko and Varsity Theater
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Singer/songwriter Meiko's second night in her Fall/Winter 2014 tour took place at the Loring Pasta Bar in Minneapolis, last night, September 21, 2014. If you were a little worried about how the Loring Pasta Bar would host live music, fear not! Like its sister venue, the Varsity Theater, the same people were involved in setting up the lights, the sound, the stage, and not to mention the beautiful décor.
Taking the stage as scheduled at 9:30pm, Los Angeles-based Buddy noted he was a little hesitant playing a "pasta bar" after a Tango band, who occupied the stage only an hour earlier. Normally, Buddy is a five-piece band, but going on tour, it is just Buddy and his acoustic guitar. Of the five or six times he's been in Minneapolis, he said that last night was the coldest, which got a little chuckle from the audience.
Buddy's brief set included one new song, "Anchor", from his latest Last Call for the Quiet Life (Stove Punchin' Records), with the remainder of the set from 2007's Alterations and Repairs (Stove Punchin' Records), including their biggest hit "Say a Lot."
"Say a Lot" had a great backstory, which I've heard before at a previous Buddy show. The story is that Buddy told all his friends and family to watch Gray's Anatomy to hear their song. Unfortunately the song was used during a heavy scene featuring a heart transplant, where the patient died at the end. His mother called and congratulate Buddy... but "without the congratulatory tone." Then, out of nowhere, she asked Buddy, "Are you sad?"
For his finale, Buddy played "Raleigh" off-mike and serenading the crowd as he moved in the middle of the room.
We've been following Los Angeles-based Meiko for quite a long time now, ever since she appeared on the Hotel Café Festival in 2007, along with other women singer/songwriters like Rachael Yamagata and Ingrid Michaelson.... of whom she thanked and made referenced to as an introduction to her hit song, "Boys With Girlfriends." It was that song that she sent to local station Cities97, that was picked up and put on rotation, that built and audience for Meiko in the Twin Cities. Ever since then, she's been regularly playing Minneapolis.
Meiko had little stories about all her songs, some really funny and eye-opening. For example, she was approached by a couple who said that they used her song "Reasons To Love You" for their wedding dance... which was on opposite end of how she felt about that song. Meiko was fighting with her then-boyfriend and in a passive-aggressive way, she was strumming and writing that song. At the end of the fight, she finished writing "Reasons To Love You."
Other interesting stories she told was how proud she was to be part Japanese, and as one of her criteria when she signed to her record label Fantasy Records/Concord, was that they had to bring her to Japan. She was ecstatic that by the time she toured Japan, she had a #1 hit with "Stuck on You", and about 30 family members showed up to her show. They didn't speak English and she didn't speak Japanese, but "lots of peace signs were thrown around."
In the middle of her set, she played a few new songs ("Sweeter", "Deep Sweat", "Lose It") from the forthcoming Dear You album, which she said that she try and mix it up with old familiar songs. She doesn't like going to a show where artists would play all new songs, so she kept it to a minimum. Of the new songs, they are typically about breakups, which she confessed she doesn't like writing happy songs as she found them boring.
There was a fly that was bothering Meiko during "Sweeter", a song about her ex-boyfriend who cheated on her with a Hooter's girl called Jeanette. After the song, she mentioned that one time a fly flew up her nose at a concert. Then during "Boys With Girlfriends," she stopped abruptly mid-song, but immediately said, "it was not a fly!" She cleared her throat and continued to finish the song, like a pro.
Meiko ended her set with, what she called "a parody song". The song, "You and Onions Make Me Cry" is not available anywhere, except for music film, which she appeared in as the hotdog girl.
Meiko's upcoming Dear You album is due out in two weeks via PledgeMusic, you can pre-order now. She's currently in the middle of her Fall/Winter 2014 tour, which will eventually take her to China this November. See full date listing below:
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Buddy
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Buddy's brief set included one new song, "Anchor", from his latest Last Call for the Quiet Life (Stove Punchin' Records), with the remainder of the set from 2007's Alterations and Repairs (Stove Punchin' Records), including their biggest hit "Say a Lot."
"Say a Lot" had a great backstory, which I've heard before at a previous Buddy show. The story is that Buddy told all his friends and family to watch Gray's Anatomy to hear their song. Unfortunately the song was used during a heavy scene featuring a heart transplant, where the patient died at the end. His mother called and congratulate Buddy... but "without the congratulatory tone." Then, out of nowhere, she asked Buddy, "Are you sad?"
For his finale, Buddy played "Raleigh" off-mike and serenading the crowd as he moved in the middle of the room.
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Meiko
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Meiko had little stories about all her songs, some really funny and eye-opening. For example, she was approached by a couple who said that they used her song "Reasons To Love You" for their wedding dance... which was on opposite end of how she felt about that song. Meiko was fighting with her then-boyfriend and in a passive-aggressive way, she was strumming and writing that song. At the end of the fight, she finished writing "Reasons To Love You."
Other interesting stories she told was how proud she was to be part Japanese, and as one of her criteria when she signed to her record label Fantasy Records/Concord, was that they had to bring her to Japan. She was ecstatic that by the time she toured Japan, she had a #1 hit with "Stuck on You", and about 30 family members showed up to her show. They didn't speak English and she didn't speak Japanese, but "lots of peace signs were thrown around."
In the middle of her set, she played a few new songs ("Sweeter", "Deep Sweat", "Lose It") from the forthcoming Dear You album, which she said that she try and mix it up with old familiar songs. She doesn't like going to a show where artists would play all new songs, so she kept it to a minimum. Of the new songs, they are typically about breakups, which she confessed she doesn't like writing happy songs as she found them boring.
There was a fly that was bothering Meiko during "Sweeter", a song about her ex-boyfriend who cheated on her with a Hooter's girl called Jeanette. After the song, she mentioned that one time a fly flew up her nose at a concert. Then during "Boys With Girlfriends," she stopped abruptly mid-song, but immediately said, "it was not a fly!" She cleared her throat and continued to finish the song, like a pro.
Meiko ended her set with, what she called "a parody song". The song, "You and Onions Make Me Cry" is not available anywhere, except for music film, which she appeared in as the hotdog girl.
Meiko's upcoming Dear You album is due out in two weeks via PledgeMusic, you can pre-order now. She's currently in the middle of her Fall/Winter 2014 tour, which will eventually take her to China this November. See full date listing below:
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09/23 The Frequency, Madison, WI 09/24 S.P.A.C.E., Evanston, IL 09/30 WorkPlay Theatre, Birmingham, AL 10/01 Melting Point, Athens, GA 10/02 Eddie's Attic, Decatur, GA 10/04 3rd & Lindsley Bar and Grill, Nashville, TN 10/06 Southern Café, Charlottesville, VA 10/14 Bootleg Hifi, Los Angeles, CA 10/18 Wayfarer, Costa Mesa, CA 10/19 Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach, CA 10/25 Lake Cliff Park, Dallas, TX 10/26 Stubb's Indoors, Austin, TX |
11/03 Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA
11/05 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR 11/14 XP, Beijing, China 11/15 Repulse Bay Cultural, Shanghai, China 11/16 Little Bar, Chengdu, China 11/18 Nuts Live House, Chongqing, China 11/19 VOX Live House, Wuhan, China 11/22 T-union, Guangzhou, China 11/23 B10 Live, Shenzhen, China 11/25 Hidden Agenda, Hong Kong, China 12/09 SOhO, Santa Barbara, CA 12/10 Prospect Theater Project, Modesto, CA 12/11 Brick & Mortar, San Francisco, CA |
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Meiko at Loring Pasta Bar, Minneapolis (21 Sept 2014) |
