Eric Himan at the World Cafe Live!

Eric Himan has been a part of my life for several years now, for I have been catching his tour stop in Philadelphia every year, something I am not willing to give up. He returned on July 26, with a show to celebrate the recent release of his new CD, Supposed Unknown. I loved it the first time I heard it (reviewed here), and it hasn't changed since. I really love the material on the album, and was excited to hear Eric tackle it live. Knowing Eric, I had no real worries, and it proved to be right. His live version of Save The Afternoon was just beautiful, and I thought I would share it with you.



Part of the fun of seeing Eric live is the joy and charm of Eric himself, a talented man who has such an ease and affability with the audience you feel like he has invited you into his living room. However, there is nothing too homey about Himan's soaring voice, nor his personal and strongly structured songs. Yet it all comes together to make a wonderfully intimate and glorious evening.



Both Eric and I wore the same t-shirt, one I had purchased from Eric via the internet when it was first made available. I have to say, it looked much nice on Himan, but that should come as no surprise. But the t-shirt is emblazoned with the title to the song I am starting this coverage with, You First. It is from the new album, and has a playfulness and a light and airy feel that belies the serious message of the song, that while people might be longing for change, or for rights or ideals, many look for someone else to stand up rather than be heard themselves. Give it a listen.



The next song I feature first appeared on Eric's Out With The Old album, which featured songs from Himan's catalog that were reworked for a piano-based arrangement. Well, except for the lone new song, Gonna Make It Work. On this album, Eric brings the song back to his acoustic guitar. In performance, he added another layer, mashing it up with the amazing song by The Cure, Just Like Heaven.



The next clip features a song originally recorded for the 2008 album, Resonate. Oddly enough, I remember attending Eric's show at the World Cafe when he first played the music from the album, and racing to the merchandise table after the show to buy it! While this might be an older song, one can't say Eric is afraid of mixing things up a bit. For this show, he invited Coyote Grace back on stage with him and together they sang the truly beautiful Only.



You can find out more about Eric by checking in on his official website here. To sample or purchase Supposed Unknown, go to iTunes here, Amazon here, or CD Baby here. I love the new album, but also all his others as well. For my money, it is a safe bet to buy any of them! Just as safe is going to see Eric performing live, for he is so charming, so talented, and so dynamic, I have never been disappointed.

Levi Kries & Eric HIman In Vienna, VA

Next Monday, I will be attending An Intimate Evening with Levi Kreis at the World Cafe in Philadelphia, and I can't wait. Levi's special guests for the evening will be the amazing Eric Himan, as well as the handsome Jason Antone. I was lucky enough to see the show at a previous stop, in Vienna, Virginia. I was lucky enough to be joined at the show by my friend, Tom Goss, and his husband, Michael Briggs. I picked Tom up at the airport, and Michael met us at Jammin' Java. With the help of Tom & the GPS, we were able to make it there in time to order some dinner, despite my own directionally-challenged self. I have to admit I went prepared, with a videocam and camera, and the video was a bust, and my pictures unspectacular at best.



We found our way to the seats, and settled in by the time Jason to be introduced and make his way to the piano. I was interested in this, as I know he tends to sing electronic dance-pop, but he performed a lovely, albeit quick acoustic set accompanying himself on the piano, including a beautiful cover of the Tears For Fears song, Everybody Wants To Rule The World.

I was a bit surprised, but next up was Levi Kreis. He made a beeline to the piano, and started playing right away, kicking in to a cover of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, an amazing song. Levi played a nice long set, with plenty of banter between songs as he took us through a nostalgic trip of his life, from life as a youngster to some of his musical highlights. It certainly was an intimate evening, with the audience learning much about Levi and what has brought him to this point in his career. This includes his thoughts on being on the first season of The Apprentice, not as a contestant but as part of a challenge. That brought about his first album, One Of The Ones, which included the beautiful ballad, With You.



In the trip down memory lane, he spoke of The Gospel According To Levi, Bygones, and the latest album, Where I Belong. There was plenty of great material from those album to give a full evening, and when pared down, it is quite the soulful tour de force. Levi has a voice that can soar to greater heights, and just as easily touch your soul with a whisper. Take, for instance, his performance of his last single, Nothing At All, which was #1 on MTV's LOGO network.



Toward the end of his set, he spoke of his great respect for Eric Himan not only as an artist, but also for his strength to tour so strongly, packing in crowds across the country. They toured together a couple of years ago, before Levi was involved with Million Dollar Quartet, and before the Tony win. So when Levi decided it was time to hit the road again, he wanted to tour with Eric once again. But Levi was taking an online class, and needed to be back in his hotel room, so after introducing Eric, he would be venturing to the merchandise area, where he would chat and autograph CDs.



I will admit this threw me a bit, as I love Eric, and could never be moved from my seat while he was playing, and figured this meant I would not get a chance to see Levi. But I would be getting to hear Eric sing live, which is always a highlight to my week. And, once again, Eric did not disappoint. He played some o fhis set on the guitar, and some on the piano, as his latest album, Out With The Old, features Eric reworking some of his previous material on the piano, which is fantastic! I love the piano version of Frozen In The Sun, a song from the Eric & the Adams debut. Included on the album is a new song, Gonna Make It Work, which you can see/hear in this clip.



Eric's set included his great original material as well as a few cover songs, and as is always the case, Eric was in great voice. He just has so much great material, I am betting I could see him weekly and never tire of his show. One of my favorites (and I have at least 20 songs I consider favorites!) is from the Resonate album, We Are The Same, in this clip sung with the amazing lesbian singer/songwriter, Andy Moore.



After the show, I did miss seeing Levi, but did manage to see Eric and get my picture taken not only with him, but with Tom as well. Being the ultimate in geeky fans, I did mention I still think Tom & Eric sing a duet on The Monkees' Last Train To Clarksville to be one of my all-time faves, so I needed to get a picture of them as well!




So, I am very much looking forward to seeing Jason, Eric and Levi in Philadelphia on Monday, January 3, 2011 at the World Cafe Live! If you are in the area for the show, I would say you have got to make it there. Click here for tickets. For more about Eric Himan, check out his website here. You can find Levi Kreis on the web here, and still see him 8 shows a week on Broadway in Million Dollar Quartet. You can find Jason's official website here. I'll be there with my sister Kathy, my niece Mandy, and cousins Margie & Eileen. And I hope to be having better luck with my pictures and videos, and will be sharing them with my readers.

The show has added another date, this time in New York City. They will be playing at Joe's Pub on February 28, and anyone in the area should definitely be checking that out here!

Eric Himan - Out With The Old

The amazing and talented Eric Himan as released a new album, and of course I needed to order it right away. It is interesting, but over the past 10 years, Eric's music has been driven by the guitar, his prime instrument. That is, if you discount his amazing voice. But the decade of music represented by six studio albums, one studio EP, one group EP from Eric & the Adams, and one live album was written for and on a guitar, and was played at countless clubs across the country that way. At the most recent show I saw in Philadelphia, Eric mentioned the purchase of a piano, and played a few of his songs on an upright piano. It was interesting, adding another layer to an established part of the playlist. So, with the advent of his latest release, Out With The Old, Eric offers up a compilation of sorts, pulling songs from his album, only rerecording them with a piano arrangement, putting a new twist on some treasures.

The 12-song collection includes two songs from 2008's Resonate, 2006's Everywhere All At Once, 2005's Dark Horse, and 2003's All For Show, and single songs from 2002's I Go On and 2000's Eric Himan. There is also a song from the Eric & the Adams 2009 EP. To round out the songs to 12, there is the great new song, Gonna Make It Work. Check it out here.



So, as we traverse this great cross-section of Eric's musical life, pulling from his many moods of the last decade, I can't help but notice how the change in instrumentation can either soften a song, or make it a stronger statement. I thought Clyde was damn near perfect on Dark Horse, and yet on here it is texturally different, a touch more melancholy. But on a song like Frozen In The Sun, you can see how the new arrangement can bring something new out in the vocal, as the sparse piano accompaniment brings a much more intimate experience. The same can be said for One Night Stands, with the piano a more personal expression, while the guitar version was more of a principled statement, of sorts.

I am fascinated that while both the guitar and the piano are string instruments, they can have such different impacts on the song. But I can ell you what they don't have an effect on, and that is the amazing voice and talent of Eric Himan. No matter how often I see him perform, when I hear of a new release, I get a feeling of excitement, which builds to giddy joy when the CD is in my hands. And I am never disappointed. The same goes for Out With The Old.



From 2000 to 2009, this disc represents an impressive song catalog. And there are still one or two songs I wanted to be included, but can't think of one I would replace. To get your copy of Out With The Old, check out CD Baby here, or order it directly from the artist himself here. By the way, I will be catching Eric performing with Levi Kreis at the end of the month, and already the anticipation is starting to build!