Monday, August 31, 2009

erick baker at the square room

This post is by Jed (blogger name TBD) who is an avid Knoxville concert goer and actually writes about it, unlike our current stable of lazy writers. In an effort to get our vibrant music scene to be a bigger part of the Wigshop, we bring you Jed's first post:

If you haven’t discovered The Square Room then you're missing out on one of Knoxville’s most accommodating music venues. I've yet to see a show there where the artist hasn’t commented on what a great place it is to play music.

You have to be on your game when looking to see a show at The Square Room as they don’t advertise their concerts in the Metro Pulse, which we all know is the lifeline for all Knoxvillians looking to see live music in the Knoxville area.


Friday night I joined a sold out crowd to see Erick Baker. Opening the show was a duo out of Nashville opting for the simple name of Sam & Ruby. My concert partner, Kristen, swears Ruby sounds like a young Dolly Parton with the way her voice leans towards a sultry bluegrass sound. I prefer to describe them as a mix between Norah Jones and a smooth Ben Harper. My personal favorite from their set was, “The Suitcase Song.” The lyrics are thoughtful, the music soothing; perfect music for a rainy day sitting inside with a book and a cup of coffee.


The main man Erick Baker, who I am not terribly familiar with, played to a crowd that knew almost all of the lyrics to all his songs to the point of having a crowd sing-along for the majority of Erick’s most recognizable song, “My Two Left Feet.” Erick put on a great show, playing until right before midnight. The rasp in Erick’s voice is comparable to that of crooner Ray LaMontagne’s, especially on the his last song, “Stay Awhile.” Overall, Erick’s songs have more jam to them, resulting in a more upbeat feel to his music. On the whole, two artists/groups worth checking out.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been really annoyed with the Square Room since the infamous Matmos ban during the Big Ears festival and probably won't see anything there for a long, long time.

Potassium Biscuit said...

I've seen five or six shows at the S.R. and all have been wonderful. Your loss, I guess.

The Pol said...

Heard an interview with Sam & ruby on NPR this weekend. (insert snarky comment here) they sounded great. Now mrs. The pol is having me buy their album. Sorry I missed the show.

Anonymous said...

I have played there, and they may be good to larger artists, they do not however, cater well to locals. The exception is The Dirty Guv'nahs, if you enjoy that kind of thing.

B said...
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B said...

i saw the dirty guv's there the last time they played. I had never seen them so i thought i should check them out since they were voted knoxville's best band according to the metropulse. i made the mistake of showing up early for the opening band. there i was standing in a sparse crowd of high-schoolers. it was really bizarre.

i thought the blue plate special with the hackensaw boys a while back was great there.

i don't know. i guess i haven't warmed up to the square room. something about it is very "in between" - it's not a theater nor is it a bar. that's not a bad thing, i just don't know what to make of it yet.

Fat Elvis said...
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Fat Elvis said...

Do not cater well to locals?

Erick Baker is a local...

Sam Quinn and the Japan Ten, Jill Andrews, Scott Miller, Todd Steed, Jonathan Sexton, RB Morris, Brent Thompson, The Black Lillies...they are all locals who have played the Square Room at one point or another.