“Some Land Holds A Home…” – Blind Pilot

August 5, 2012

Blind Pilot

Jody





“Some Land Holds A Home…” – Blind Pilot

I had the good fortune to schedule my trip to Indianapolis for my high school reunion while one of my favorite bands just happened to be in town. I had seen Blind Pilot perform an incredible show back in February at the Social in Orlando and was thrilled to see them scheduled to play a gig at one of the coolest venues in America, the old Murat Shrine Temple which is now known as the Old National Centre in downtown Indianapolis.

Indianapolis



Built in 1909, the venue is resplendent with high ceilings, intricate hand carved murals and a vintage feel that comes from actually being vintage, though the place has been restored with a state of the art sound and light system and a beautiful bar and lounge area with comfy couches and chairs to relax in pre or post show. Pretty swanky and fun and an awesome place to see a show.

River City Extension



I invited a wonderful long-time friend, Jody, to come along to the show. We have been attending concerts together for more than thirty years and while this may not have been as exciting as the time we saw Foreigner back in the eighties, I was pretty certain that we would have a good time. We went out to dinner at Bru on Mass, one of the newer eateries that have sprung up on Massachusetts Avenue since it has become a local hotspot and an easy walk to the venue. The food was good and even though the waiter spilled water all over me, it was nice.

RCE



We meandered over to the venue, checking out Blind Pilot’s classic tour bus which was parked outside the place. It is an awesome old 1950s bus that has been converted in to a fully functional, very nice living space for the band to tour in. We headed inside to the bar for drinks before grabbing a spot to watch the show a few rows back into the crowd.

with Sam Tacon of RCE

RCE takes a moment in downtown Indy * photo by RCE

The opening band, River City Extension, was a wonderful surprise. I was not terribly familiar with them, but the nine piece outfit from Tom’s River, New Jersey was excellent. The large band made for an expansive, more upbeat (certainly than Blind Pilot) sort of mix of music ranging from folkish Americana to calypso. They put on a stellar opening performance that really won over the crowd.

Blind Pilot





Blind Pilot was much quieter and almost reverent sort of show that was a perfect fit for the beautiful venue. The crowd was mercifully quiet and actually listened to the quiet, beautiful lyrics and music and the show were wonderful. The band played almost all of the songs from their two brilliant releases and the crowd seemed almost mesmerized by their excellent set. I was thrilled to see them again.



playing in the crowd

The band ended their set with a beautiful fully acoustic version of their song “Three Rounds and a Sound” before which they actually entered the audience, asking everyone to have a seat where they were as they performed an almost perfect rendition of their beautiful song.

“Three Rounds And A Sound” acoustic live

http://rivercityextension.com/