Crazy

This past weekends adventure started when my friend Sara and I were looking at tour dates for our most recent favorite artist: Ian Axel. We knew of an upcoming show in the area on March 12th with Greg Holden but we also noticed a show coming up with his good friends Chad Vaccarino and Mike Cambell (they're in the video for This Is The New Year and Chad sings on the track). It was in Albany, not terribly close to DC, but it was on a Saturday, a day neither of us had to work . . . We google mapped it. Six hours and 24 minutes from my door to the door of Bread and Jam Cafe. Then Sara mentioned we could stay with her sister in Connecticut . . . 2 hours from Bread and Jam. Without further discussion the decision had been made and we never looked back . . . until we were sitting in the car at the gas station. Sara looked at me and said something to the effect of "you know we're crazy right? We don't have to do this." I agreed, but at the risk of our mental health we started our journey.

It was a beautiful drive, despite the fact that we're still in the middle winter. I guess there are reasons to be thankful for the snow . . . There's a handy little feature on GPS that will calculate a route avoiding tolls. Because we chose that option we got to drive through some cute little towns as well as some big cities. If you're going to be in the car that long, it's nice to be surrounded by so much beauty, be in great company, and have an awesome concert to look forward to.

Turns out the show was just outside Albany in a place called Cahoes. We planned on walking around a bit then grabbing some food at the venue before the show. Turns out there's not much to the town, so after a short walk up and down the street we went to the venue and made ourselves at home. We had nice chat with the owner of the Bread and Jam Cafe. He's a former musician who was able to have a band, tour, etc and then decided to settle down with his family and live part 2 of his dream: to have a music venue. If I ever am fortunate to own my own venue, I want it to have the same kind of feel as Bread and Jam. It was so cozy and they had yummy food. The stage was surrounded by comfy couches and chairs, behind those were diner-esk tables and chairs. The walls were lined with bookshelves and covered in original artwork. If it didn't take so long to get there, I would visit this place all the time!

When the Ian, Chad and Mike arrived someone must have told them we'd made a trek to get there because when they came over to where we were sitting (on a comfy red couch right in front of the stage) they asked us about it. We admitted to our craziness and explained that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to hear them all play together. They seemed a little surprised, but in a good way.

Ian was up first and played a fantastic set, including a song he wrote for his sister that we'd never heard before. Then when Chad and Mike were up, he plopped down on the couch next to me to enjoy their set. I had listened to the songs on Chad's myspace and a few on youtube, enough to know that I'd like it, but I wasn't prepared to love what I heard as much as I did. These guys are just starting out-they have a mailing list and are putting their stuff up on youtube. Recordings can't come soon enough! Unfortunately it'll probably be a while. At least we have the internet!

After the show we stuck around and were able to chat with them until it was time to pack up. I love when the opportunity presents itself to tell an artist what their music does for me. Most of the time there's a few minutes to say hi, great show, and can I get a picture? Nothing terribly personal. I don't feel the need to to tell most artist how I feel, but there are a select few that I'd really like to share that with. These guys are on the list, and I feel like in part, that was able to happen Saturday night. I guess I can equate it to needing to say thank you to someone who has done something to make your life better.

Okay, on to the pictures! (It's about time, I know. Congratulations if you've made it this far).

Ian Axel. Jump on the bandwagon now, this guy is going to go far!

Ian and Chad rocking This Is The New Year.

Chad and Mike doing their thing. Anyone want to come to NYC on April 8th with me? Seriously. If you do, let me know! :)

This just makes me happy. These guys honestly could not have been nicer. I can't wait to see them again!

The whole trip would have been worth it just to hear This Is The New Year and Shorty Don't Wait. Being completely blown away by the rest of their stuff was just icing on the cake! Here's the video I took of Shorty Don't Wait. I realize it's blurry and that Chad's head is cut off (not on purpose). Sorry. But the sound quality is great, so listen up! :)


To hear more of Ian's music, click here.
To hear more from Chad and Mike click here and here.