My eldest daughter, Violin Girl, and I are HUGE Maren Ord fans. I found out about this concert the same day it was going to happen. I was stunned. The only place I’d seen advertising was on Maren’s MySpace account. The price was right, too. Only $7.00. Of course it was about a two hour drive (as the Yahoo Maps flies) from my house, but Violin Girl and I were supposed to be going on a “daddy-daughter date” anyway. I knew she’d be excited when I came home and suggested it to her for our “date.”

 I was not disappointed. Her face lit up and she started happily shaking. She doesn’t say much when she’s excited, so sometimes it’s hard to tell, but I’ve learned to recognize the look. It’s subtly different from her “I’m scared out of my gourd” shake.

We knew it would be a long drive, 2 hours and 20 minutes according to Yahoo Maps, but we had the time. We piled into my car, along with copies of Maren’s previous CD’s (both of which we've already got signed, just to show you how geeky we are) and some other music and headed out. A quick stop at the American Burger for food and we were truly on our way.

Read about our road trip at the Random Thoughts Blog

When we got to the concert, Violin Girl and I went in and hit the restrooms to clean up a bit. To our pleasant surprise, we wandered by a small room with a couple of glass walls where Maren and her backing musicians were rehearsing. As excited as Violin Girl and I were about seeing and hearing Maren a bit early, I was just as excited to see she was being backed up by two of Salt Lake’s hottest young session musicians: Debra Fotheringham and Secily Saunders. They’re both incredible musicians in their own right, but I do tend to come across them backing others more than playing their own stuff. That’s not a bad thing. As a trumpet player that’s what I usually do, too. And these two are waaaaay cool wherever you find them.

I started looking around to find out who was selling the tickets, but no luck. Violin Girl and I decided just to go in and find a seat and see what was happening. They were still setting up the equipment, but I secured us a seat right behind the sound board. That’s generally the best seat in the house. A bit later the sound tech came by and said, “We’re going to be starting a sound check, so we’d like everyone to leave for a little while.” No problem. I understood the drill.

Back out in the foyer we waited a bit, watching the others that were trickling in for the concert. Some were here for Maren, other’s were here for Benton Paul. At some point a guy with Tahitian Noni announced, “I’m sorry. I know we normally advertise these concerts here as free, but we screwed up. This one is going to be $5.00. These artists are well worth it though. Again, I’m sorry for the mix up.” What? We came expecting it to be $7.00, and as cheap as I am, I’d have paid twice that. $5.00 a ticket was an even better break. Why be sorry? 

Eventually we were let back in and Violin Girl and I went to reclaim our chosen seats. Benton Paul’s set opened the show. I’d never heard him before, but I’m glad I know him now. He’s got an incredible tenor voice, and a fun musical wit. He’s got a clean alt rock sound, with a bit of whimsy thrown in for good measure. He got the audience involved to help him with his song, “Here’s to the Boys” and started a competition between “the girls” and “the boys” that was just as fun to participate in as the song is. Two of my favorites from his set were “Far From Safe” and “The Wise & the Weak.” You can check them both, and others, over at his MySpace site. You can also pick up his songs over at iTunes. My only regret is that I neglected to pick up his CD at the concert.

Debra Fotheringham backed up Benton on a few tunes on percussion, and even sang a duet with him as well. After the song Benton revealed that she only played it with him live once. They’d rehearsed it just before the concert but that was it. Just that one time and she nailed it like she’d been singing it all her life.

Maren came out after Benton and Violin Girl did her subtle happy shaking dance again. I don’t blame her. The concert was cool. Maren opened up with “Life is a Train” from her “Not Today” EP (that’s a half-length CD, in case you were wondering). That album was produced by Randy Bachman (of “The Guess Who” and “Bachman Turner Overdrive”) and is a wonderful stretch from her first album, “Waiting.” There were a few years in between those albums, and it’s not hard to hear how far Maren had come as a young woman, and musician, in that time. Not that “Waiting” is a slouch. It’s an incredible album, and Violin Girl’s favorite. Having grown up with Randy Bachman in my ear, I lean towards the tracks on “Not Today.”

One of the great things about small venues is that they are so much more intimate. The players are a bit more relaxed and get a bit more personal with the crowd, and with each other, I’ve noticed. Maren, Debra, and Secily were no exception. They’ve played together before, and their friendship showed in both the performance and the banter they had between each other. Secily played electric guitar and I nearly hit the floor when she cut loose on her first solo. I knew the girl could play, but holy guitar-riff Batman!  She was ripping it up that night like I’d never heard her do before. And better than many others I’ve heard twice her age.

Maren treated us to a few songs from her upcoming CD, including what I think is the title track, “American Loser.” It’s a great song all about how some people just seem to complain about how terrible their lives are, even when they’re actually doing pretty well. They just like being martyrs, or being “crowned the American Loser.” Just to show you how petty and stupid some people can be, though, Maren said she’d gotten some hate mail over the title. She’s from (but may have duel citizenship from what I understand) but “American Loser” just rolled off the tongue better than “Canadian Loser.” (She’s right.) I can’t wait to hear the rest of the album.

After the concert we got to do the "meet and greet" with Maren. Violin Girl was a bit shy, but after I introduced her, I got to see Maren’s shining character as she approached my silent and nervous daughter, breaking her out of her shell. “Wow, a Superman T-shirt!” Maren, said. “Where’d you get that? That’s so cool.” I never got to tell you, but seeing my daughter’s favorite singer open up to her like that really touched me. Simple acts of courtesy do great things, and leave lasting impressions. Thanks, Maren.

Be sure to check out the music of Benton Paul and Maren Ord. You won’t regret it.