Dum Spiro Spero: The Swell Season

I promised myself that I wouldn't do what I did last Summer and neglect to blog! It seems that during the warm months we stay so busy and time slips away. The past two weeks have done just that! I have moments where I make a plan to sit down to blog and then I get busy doing things and next thing I know I have a ton of stuff on my "list" of things I want to write about! Ugh!

Last Saturday Robin and I went to see The Swell Season at the Performing Arts Center at the North Charleston Coliseum. I saw them a couple of years ago in Louisville and it was one of the most amazing concerts I have ever been to. It was right at the time that my then-relationship was falling apart and most of The Swell Season's songs are about relationships, loneliness and pretty sad in general. I was able to meet Glen and Markéta after the show and that night was a turning point for me. On the two-hour drive home I did a lot of thinking. The Swell Season helped me make a lot of decisions that night.

Several years later, I'm in a much better place and am still a big fan. When I saw that they were coming to North Charleston I was so surprised because all we ever get are totally lame country concerts. I bought tickets the day of the pre-sale and was able to get great seats in the orchestra. I found out later that my friend Beth also bought tickets and happened to get them in the same row that I was in. I asked her if she bought them during pre-sale and she said that she bought them during the regular sale. Later they were selling tickets as buy one, get one free. I just can't understand why people in Charleston do not attend concerts like this. I know The Swell Season isn't Lady Gaga or anything (not that we are even getting her!) but why do ticket sales for this type of concert always sell so slowly? It's always been this way. That's why we always have to travel 3-5 hours to see anything decent. Sad.

So, I was happy that The Swell Season was coming and it looked like the theater sold out, BOGOF, or otherwise. I must say that the first time I saw them was much better than this time. Glen seemed to engage the audience more in between songs with his funny stories and anecdotes, but this time it wasn't that way. I thought the audience in Charleston was kind of obnoxious and kept talking to him so maybe that ticked him off or something. Also, when Marketa walked on stage and up to the mic, some jerk in the audience yelled out "nice tits!" I was so pissed off. Who says that sort of thing? Obviously this person has no idea who The Swell Season are. Markéta is so soft spoken and seemingly meek and very shy. She looked out at the audience confused and said "Excuse me?" Thankfully, she didn't hear what they said. The show was great, nonetheless and I was thankful that a band that I actually liked came to the coliseum for once.

If you haven't had the pleasure of hearing the music of The Swell Season, or if you haven't seen the movie 'Once', do yourself a favor and seek them out! The chemistry that Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová has is so amazing! Also check out Glen in the 1991 film 'The Commitments' and his other band 'The Frames'!