Photo of the show is from Duncan's Flikr page.
This time he was the headliner at One World Theater, a very wonderful, intimate venue down on the southwest side off of Bee Cave Road. Normally this place books Smooth Jazz and Pop acts that don’t fill stadiums anymore. Four years ago, I saw the Manhattan Transfer play there during the Vibrate tour. I had second-row seats and it was a dream come true (I can sense my brother starting to dry heave).
I was fortunate again to score second row on Duncan because it was a Christmas present for my friend and frequent concert buddy Mark (M). I’m glad I chose him too. Thanks to his navigation skills and knowledge of the traffic patterns, we managed to leave work around 610 PM and arrived at 640ish because he convinced me to take 360 instead of MoPac; 360 doesn’t show up on the iPhone’s traffic/maps application was my counter argument.
Duncan hit the stage with a seven-piece band this time. They were mainly the traditional Rock/Pop setup but three musicians were in the orchestra category: a cellist, a bassoonist and a french horn player. I was glad to see his guitarist Gerry Leonard again, this guy does does great things with the whammy bar. Duncan opened with a couple old songs, namely “She Runs Away” which everyone was thrilled to hear. Then he invited Lauren Pritchard from the original cast of Spring Awakening to accompany the band on several tunes. Afterwards, he shifted gears to introduce songs from his new album/project Whisper House. I had listened to it a few times so I had some familiarity with the material.
This artist is a major reason why I love live shows. Firstly, Duncan would explain the story line and context of the lyrics between songs. He didn’t have to but I think he felt obligated since his Broadway work hasn’t made it to Austin yet. Secondly, whenever I see a band/singer perform the material in person and do it with such conviction, emotional investment and energy, I gain a stronger appreciation of the work. Often, it can color my opinion (favorably) of a track I usually skipped or give a greater personal connection to it. Case in point for this show would definitely be “Earthbound Starlight.”
They closed with “Take a Bow,” which is the finale to Whisper House and then returned for an encore. Using the three-piece orchestra in place of the electronics to “On a High” was awesome. I think he should re-release it that way. To end the evening, Duncan covered Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees.” Maybe he knew this concert was a gift since Radiohead is one of Mark’s favorite bands.
Surprisingly, Duncan came down to the lobby (this show was the first of the evening, the 930 PM was starting in less than an hour, I figured he’d want to catch his breath). I got to speak to him for a bit and he gladly signed my copy of Whisper House. I gave him a belated congratulations on his Tony, wished him luck on this project and gave him my card. Duncan then joked about not meeting four weeks earlier when he bought his latest Apple product. I chose not to bug him into a picture due to all the other people who wanted to meet him and his limited window of time. Maybe he’ll swing through Austin again.
Meanwhile, Mark and I need to find out how to get a copy of the show. Duncan had a couple cameramen wandering about recording the performance. Had I known, I would’ve worn something nicer. Maybe they’ll digitize me into better threads. The other side project will be getting a copy of the CD by Holly Brook, Duncan’s touring keyboardist and female vocalist on the new record. According to his official site he will producing Holly’s next album so I need to be watching for it this year.