a portion of the coolest stretch of the solo show I attended (this guy was right next to me)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-Z56mNHeU
my review of the show:
Scott Hutchison @ The Vic/Hard Rock Hotel - 2/18/11
Thursday night we headed to the Vic to catch Scott Hutchison who was playing a solo set opening for Josh Ritter. I do not know much about Josh Ritter, but have heard good things about his performances – so I figured that would be a bonus. Scott came out to a rather full crowd and began with “Modern Leper” and by mid-tune it was obvious that many Frightened Rabbit fans were in attendance – many singing and dancing along. Those who were not familiar with Scott or his band became quickly in tune with his vulgar personality…as a story about a pubic hair stuck in his throat followed his first tune. Also after his first tune, he said “btw if anyone knows FR, shout ‘em out and I’ll play ‘em…I don’t have a setlist”. Other than the younger attendees that could not keep their mouth shut during his performance (back turned to the stage, iphone glaring and carrying on a conversation) the opener set was all that one could hope for in a venue like the Vic (1500 capacity). However, our night was about to get significantly better…sometime around 3/4 of the way through his set he said “I’m playing a free show down at the Hard Rock Hotel tonight…first come, first served if you are interested…I’ll probably be a lot more drunk by then, so it could be interesting” So at the end of his set we decided we would sacrifice seeing Josh to witness Scott at a much more intimate venue.
The Vic:
Modern Leper
Backwards Walk
The Twist
Old Fashioned
Poke
Good Arms v Bad Arms
Swim Until You Can’t See Land
Keep Yourself Warm
Living in Colour
At 9:25pm we walked up to the Hard Rock and were wondering what kind of crowd we would encounter…no line outside of the hotel was a good first sign. Then as we approached we wondered if we were in the right spot. After asking the front desk if Scott was playing…he sounded very enthusiastic “yeah, right through those doors…its getting pretty crowded so I’m not sure if they are letting anyone else in”. For a moment we were wondering if we missed the boat. However, as we approached the door we realized the bar was rather empty and also that we might have been the only people there for Scott. Very trendy and most of the people looked at us like we were in the wrong place – most others were in sport coats, etc (much more dressy than jeans/t-shirt that we were sporting). We ordered a beer at the bar and sat and waited…slowly we saw a few more low key looking people walk in...a good clue was scraggly beards – these guys were here to see Scott.
At 9:55pm the place started to look relatively full (40-50 people) and we took a spot about 5 feet from the stage…when Scott arrived armed with 3 instruments – two guitars and a bottle of Jameson. After plugging in he took in the size of the room “well, we’re gonna get to know each other pretty quick…and you have me kind of trapped back here so I guess I’ll play every song I’ve ever written and then you’ll let me out”. From that point forward he tore through nearly every tune from the latest two FR releases, Midnight Organ Fight and Winter of Mixed Drinks. He pulled from his bottle of Jameson after the first song “does anyone have a glass, this looks pathetic”. The next 1.5 hours were filled with some of the most inspired and intimate performances I have ever seen...full of sing alongs, Scott banter and of course - an ample amount of vulgarity. Great, great, great stuff. Scott hung out after the show and I had to go up to say hello. shook his hand just said "thank you for doing this...this was incredible" he said "hey, thanks for comin out man...this was really fun - see you in the fall"
Outside of the last four tunes, order of songs is very suspect.
Hard Rock Hotel:
Swim Until You Can’t See Land
Backwards Walk
Things
Be Less Rude
(The Funeral)* àOld Fashioned
Head Rolls Off
Poke (unplugged)
I Feel Better
The Wrestle
Skip The Youth
Fast Blood
Not Miserable
The Loneliness and the Screamà
Nothing Like You
Living Colour
Encore:
Keep Yourself Warm
*Band of Horses