Last night was my co-worker/friend’s turn to pick a concert and a while back she chose Brandi Carlile who always gives me a Johnny and Rosanne Cash vibe; this is a good thing. I’m not even sure how well known this singer is outside of the Austin and probably AAA radio circles (WXRT, KGSR and World Cafe stations).
It was good to take in a show at the Hogg Auditorium too. I haven’t been there since David Byrne in 2004 too.
Anyway, on to Brandi.
The evening was an entertaining set of hits from her three albums, primarily the current release Give up the Ghost with singles like “Dying Day” (done acoustically and without microphones, amplifiers and monitors) and “Looking Out.” Brandi must have been reading my mind regarding the Cash Family thing too because she closed up with a cover of “Folsom Prison Blues.” Besides Johnny, she and her very talented band did Dylan’s “The Times Are A-Changin’,” Tears for Fears’ “Mad World” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”