Butch Walker with Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent: Oct. 14, 2011; The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI

(Click image above for larger view)

Greetings—

It was road trip time this past weekend as me and one of our bestest friends in the whole world headed to Detroit to catch Butch Walker and the Black Widows with special guests Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent (collectively known as Shovels and Rope) at The Magic Bag.

The evening began with Butch coming out and introducing the various members of The Black Windows who each performed a few songs from their various projects. All exhibited great musicianship on a very eclectic selection of tunes. Very enjoyable.

Then Butch came out and introduced Shovels and rope. He said of Cary Ann when he first heard her that, "...when she opened that mouth and sang, the devil himself came out!"

And Butch did not lie ... holy crap, can this lady sing; what a set of pipes! I was so taken by her tunes and vocal dexterity that I jumped on iTunes as soon as I got back to the motel to pick up their latest offering. I can tell you that I'll be picking up her solo work in the very near future as well. Cary ... you have a new fan!

And speaking of new fan ... well, until this show I was a Butch Walker virgin. I'd heard so much about him from our friends and they've turned us on to a few of his songs, but I had never had the pleasure of seeing him live.

Having now experienced a Butch Walker show all I can say is, "Wow!" There are few artists out there who leave it all onstage like this guy. From having-good-times rock'n'roll to rip-your-heart-out ballads, this guy delivered the goods, sure. I see a few more trips to the iTunes store to add some Butch to my collection very soon ... and I'll be keeping my eye out for the next time he comes through my neck of the woods again, too.

All in all a great weekend with a great friend and great tunes to put the icing on the cake.

LISTENING TO
"Hollowpoint Blues" from the 2008 album Shovels & Rope by Shovels and Rope
(From The Celtic Camera collection of fine tune-age)

Slainte,
Gareth — The Celtic Camera Photography