Time for a real review. Or, uh, play-by-play.
Thursday morning, I awoke early (for a day off at least), took a quick shower, inhaled my breakfast in seconds, and ran out the door. And then I sat through the joys of L. A.'s only half-decent public transportation system (to its credit, it's definitely been improving recently) while I journeyed off to Hollywood and Vine, home of The Music Box, where KT Tunstall was to perform that night. I was there by nine o'clock in the morning for a woman who wouldn't even be playing until thirteen hours later. No, there wasn't any kind of line at nine o'clock, and the tour bus didn't get to the venue until two in the afternoon. Yes, you could say it was ridiculous to be there that early; it was.
When the tour bus arrived, my friend and I (yeah, I wasn't going to hang out at the venue that long alone), ran all around the venue, trying to see KT and her band. We ended up seeing everyone except KT herself before the show, and couldn't possibly figure out how KT managed to sneak in without us seeing her. Oh well. The line started to form around five thirty, and so we hung out there for the rest of the day. Obviously, we were the first in line.
At last, the doors opened at eight, we grabbed our spot right in the very front, as close as you could get to the stage without being on the stage. We took turns going got the merch table, and I ended up getting a physical copy of the CD and a Tiger Suit hoodie.
And then we waited. And waited. Time drags on so slowly while you're waiting for a show to start. Especially when you know you still have to wait another hour once the curtain opens.
Hurricane Bells were the opening act, and they got the crowd decently pumped, though I think everyone was already super pumped for KT Tunstall anyway. Their music and performance was good, except I think they overdid the whammy-bar-guitar-solo bit to an extent, and I couldn't figure out why there was a girl just standing off to the side doing back-up vocals. It seemed like she wasn't quite part of the act, except when she'd walk over to the guitarist and sing with him. She needed an instrument or maybe more lines to sing or to at least stand closer to the band and look like she was performing. It was weird and distracting, really. I talked to the three guys (didn't see the girl) after the show though, and they all seemed like decent people, which I always considered a big plus for artists. I hate finding out the people who wrote the music you love are total douches.
But at last the twenty-minute countdown began. Nine forty, the curtain fell again, and we anxiously checked our phones over and over again in anticipation of the show really beginning. Ten o'clock came at last, and the curtain finally rose only a few minutes late, surprisingly.
The show was incredible. I can't remember what happened first, next, after, or last; it's a complete blur. I'm still not sure that Thursday night even happened. Every song was phenomenal. I'm without words, to be honest. The performance was moving and inspiring. KT someone combines the classic rocker personage with classy, intelligent woman, with childish innocence, with being real. It blows me away how down-to-earth she is, considering her chart-topping, 5x Platinum music and overall success. The day before the show, she was on Ellen and whatever George Lopez's show is called (it's chosen ignorance, or I'd just look it up). KT Tunstall is living the life of the rich and famous, and yet, from the moment the curtain rose, it was clear that she was just an ordinary human being, still a weirdo like the rest of us.
There has been some talk of her not staying true to her fans or herself with this latest album, since, on the surface, it is a far cry from something like Tracks in July and her old girl-with-a-guitar image. But Tiger Suit is still KT, through and through. There is a certain rawness, honesty, truth about all of KT's music, which is what makes it worth listening to and makes her shows more than worth attending. She was happy to talk with the crowd all night, telling us stories and responding to the things audience members would call out in the few quite moments between when the audience would quiet for the next song and the next song would begin. It was as if she felt that the whole audience was a good friend, and she was sharing part of herself with us.
Add in that, after the show, we not only met her and got a quick autograph, but she remembered my friend from a show two years ago (his name even!), and was talking and laughing with all of the people who waited out for her. KT definitely appreciates her fans and has somehow managed to stay incredibly grounded, which earns her more respect from me than any musical ability could.
Next time I see KT, I plan to be a much better musician and person.
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