Rock Shows of Note XXX
A friend was laid off yesterday, so a bunch of us got together after work for drinks in the North End. Several people were going to go to the Beth Orton show at the Avalon, and in the spirit of spending time with my newly "liberated" friend, I decided to tag along. I'm not the biggest fan of the Avalon, but I do enjoy Beth's "Trailer Park" record -- even though I must admit I momentarily confused her with Gillian Welch.

While Beth Orton's mix of singer songwriter-styled rock and trip hop was fun and interesting -- the band hit an amazing groove as the show neared its end -- I must say that the highlight of the evening was seeing Hem. Even though Comicopia's James Wu went to the show specifically to see Hem, I'd never heard of -- or heard -- them before. Fronted by Sally Ellyson, who has an extremely beautiful voice, Hem blends piano-based music with dual guitars and the occasional mandolin. They're kind of quiet, but very effective. Awesome. Just goes to show how important it is to catch opening bands. They can often be better than the headliner.