Wow. Just wow.

Diane Birch tore up The Mint in Los Angeles last night, with a strong beginning of her 22 city headlining tour. The Mint is a small venue that plays host to some great musicians, and Jan and I were surprised that Birch’s popularity hasn’t placed her in larger halls. But honestly, the rest of Los Angeles’ loss was our gain. I doubt we’ll ever be able to see an artist of her caliber this close again.

We were there early, and third in line. We staked out a spot in the standing room only club right at the front, stage right, where we anticipated Diane’s keyboard would be placed. The first act, AM, was enjoyable, with some great indie tunes and enjoyable guitar work (I bought their CD at the show, and will review them after I listen a bit).

So we were up front, about 5 or 6 feet from where Birch sat. Her shiny new keyboard was placed at center stage front, with the club’s well worn piano at 90 degrees. Our sight line provided a great view of the piano keys as she pounded them into submission. The piano surrendered early.

Photo by Gene Yano

And man, can she play. She is strong on the keys. Think Jerry Lee Lewis strong. The nearly-pop sound of her Valentino studio effort is gone when she plays it live. It is crisp, strong, and punctuated. I can’t think of another female keyboardist that kills the piano like she does, but can still coax smooth melodies from it later.

The new keyboard was another matter. Small clubs suffer from poor acoustics that are largely corrected by volume. But mistakes are also amplified. Combine that with a pedal that would not cooperate, and you get to see Birch under the pressure of not having her sound just right. A few funny quips about how much the *&#*@%$ thing cost, and Birch dives under the keyboard to adjust the pedal, while the band jammed for a couple of minutes. All is right after that.

Sometimes seeing a favorite artist live is disappointing. They do so much in the studio now, with dozens of takes and overlaying vocals. But have no fear; Birch really can sing. She makes you wonder how a petite woman can have such a big voice. If anything, she is more beautiful in person than in her promo materials, so she is easy to watch. But no matter, with Birch it is the artist inside the skin that shines, it is the voice that captivates you, and if there was a flaw in the vocal performance, I didn’t catch it.

There were several people we talked to who lucked into the show. They were there for the act that was canceled, or had just discovered Birch on YouTube. We talked to 5 people who didn’t know her, but they were in line for the CD after the show, converted to the Church of Birch from the first number.

Birch signed CDs, took pictures with fans, and was as nice on a personal level as she is professional on stage. Jan told her how special her song “Forgiveness” is to her, not because of a broken love affair, but because how it spoke to her during her during her fight with breast cancer:

Hallelujah, I got flowers in my hair
When I crossed the border there were angels waiting there
They took me down to the river of forgiveness and washed me clean

I picked the sorry’s up
I put the worries down …

The inscription Diane provided Jan was apt, and meant a lot. It was a good night.

Edit: Here’s a live video of Diane singing “Forgiveness” that night:

The upcoming concert dates are listed below. You can grab tickets on
Diane’s website. Strongly recommended.

5/13 – San Francisco – The Independent

5/15 – Portland – Aladdin Theatre

5/16 – Vancouver – 560 Club

5/17 – Seattle – Crocodile Cafe

5/20 – Denver – Bluebird Theater

5/22 – Chicago – Park West

5/23 – Minneapolis – Fine Line Music Cafe

5/24 – Des Moines – People’s Court

5/26 – Cleveland – Grog Shop

5/27 – Ann Arbor – The Ark

5/28 – Toronto – Revival

5/29 – Montreal – Club Soda

5/30 – Boston – Paradise Rock Club

6/1 – New York – Highline Ballroom

6/2 – Lancaster, Pa – Chameleon

6/3 – Philadelphia – Trocadero Theatre

6/4 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head

6/6 – Roanoke, VA– Kirk Avenue Music

6/7 – Raleigh – Cat’s Cradle

6/8 – Greenville, SC – The Handlebar

6/9 – Atlanta – Smith’s Old Bar

6/10 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo

Let’s say you could combine the substantial voice of Carole King feeling the earth move beneath her feet with the sweetness and clarity of Karen Carpenter on her soft pop, and occasionally add in the upbeat style of Linda Rondstat. And then blend it with some Gospel, Blues and a bit of Tonk (derived from 100% organic Honky Tonk). Package it up with a smidgen of mystery and an old soul in a young woman. You would have Diane Birch.

I may be her oldest fan. I would imagine that most of her fans don’t even know who Carole King, Karen Carpenter or Linda Rondstat are. Kids today.

Maybe I’m the next oldest fan. At least one other old guy likes her. Daryl Hall was duly impressed on his webshow, Live from Daryl’s House:

“Diane has one of the best new female voices I’ve heard in quite a while,” said Daryl about the latest new artist to appear on Live From Daryl’s House. “She’s also a very evocative songwriter and kills on the Wurlitzer. We really had a blast.”

Catch her performances there with Daryl’s “house band”.

Diane is appearing in Los Angeles tomorrow night, for one night, at the El Rey Theatre, a wonderful art-deco movie house turned concert venue The Mint, a smaller night club venue on W. Pico Boulevard. Smaller! The Mint holds about 200 people, and the show is sold out. My wife scored two tickets because she loves me.

Not only is my wife a good person, but I realize God is real and a loving God, because Diane is not appearing with Nick Jonas. This is the first night of her own tour this time around, and the opening act is AM, another up-and-comer, who is sure to perform songs from his new album Future Sons & Daughters.

These are two great new artists. Don’t miss them, even if you are an old guy. Tickets are still available This show is now sold out, but folks in other cities can check the concert dates posted at Diane Birch’s website.

The Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, certainly had its moments. In what appears to be an impromptu statement, Ryan Sorba, head of the Young Americans for Freedom’s California chapter, stood up to condemn CPAC’s invitation to GOProud, a group that supports gay Republicans:

Mr. Sorba was booed by some in the conservative audience. He has a right to his opinion, and certainly to his personal beliefs. Without vilifying Mr. Sorba, I would like to examine why his concerns are misplaced.

Conservatives and libertarians are concerned about the scope and reach of government. The phrase “limited government” is used to convey this thought. But it is a complex subject. Conservatives generally recognize the need for laws governing human actions that harm or endanger others. Social conservatives tend to marry this idea with another: that individual actions can endanger entire communities, cultures and nations. Sometimes, they want to enact laws, or continue supporting standards to protect society. I submit that is not within the purview of a limited government, as only an expansive, intrusive and overbearing government can hope to “preserve” a culture (think: France).

Finding the right balance between maximum freedom, smallest government, and social order is difficult. But if the choice is between limiting the reach of government into our daily lives and limiting access to political activism by gay people, it might be instructive to take this simple three question test:

Choose one answer in each question:
Within the last 500 years, which one of the following groups has wrongly imprisoned, tortured, and executed people in violation of natural law:
A. Governments
B. Gay people

Within the last 500 years, which one of the following has extracted onerous taxes from people, often without giving them the right to be represented:
A. Governments
B. Gay people

Within the last 500 years, which one of the following has restricted various liberties, including property rights, religious liberty and freedom of speech:
A. Governments
B. Gay people

As the audience members at CPAC booed, they reminded me of the decision by Ronald Reagan as he considered a run for the Presidency. He was asked to oppose the 1978 Briggs Initiative, a measure put to the voters that prohibited gay and lesbian teachers, with jail terms specified for encouraging homosexual behavior. It enjoyed about two thirds support prior to Reagan weighing in, as the Log Cabin Republicans note in their history:

Many prominent politicians in the Republican and Democratic parties were hesitant about standing up to the bigotry of Briggs and his allies. That’s when gay conservatives turned to former governor Ronald Reagan. At the time he was preparing to mount a campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980. His advisors all thought he was committing political suicide when he decided to be an outspoken foe of the Briggs Initiative. Reagan declared that the initiative “is not needed to protect our children – we have the legal protection now.”

Reagan went further, detailing the dangers of passing such a measure. “It has the potential for real mischief,” the former governor explained. “What if an overwrought youngster, disappointed by bad grades, imagined it was the teacher’s fault and struck out by accusing the teacher of advocating homosexuality? Innocent lives could be ruined.”

Reagan’s forceful opposition helped defeat the Briggs Initiative. In November 1978, voters rejected the Briggs Initiative by more than a million votes. Even in conservative Orange County, Briggs’ home base, the initiative lost. Long-time Democratic gay activist David Mixner met with Reagan in 1978 to personally lobby him on the Briggs initiative, recalling, “Never have I been treated more graciously by a human being. He turned opinion around and saved that election for us,” Mixner said. “We would have been in deep trouble. He just thought it was wrong and came out against it.”

While social conservatives have a home in the greater conservative movement, it would be instructive for them to remember the greatest threat to freedom comes from government. A government expansive enough to limit the freedom of gays is one expansive enough to limit the freedom of conservatives.

Cross posted to Donklephant

So far in 2009, I have found one exceptional Christmas album to recommend: Christmas in Bethlehem by Swedish artist Carola.

Amazon.com is featuring the song Hark, the Herald Angels Sing [feat. Aygun Beyler and Mahsa Vahdat] as part of their free offerings this year. Hark is a wonderful rendition with a very middle-eastern sound and haunting vocals.

Carola is popular in Sweden, perhaps the most popular female singer in that country, but virtually unknown in the US. The album contains more songs arranged in a similar way to Hark, with complex rhythms, but also beautiful traditional arrangements. In all of them Carola’s voice speaks directly to your soul. I wasn’t surprised to find out she is a Christian; you can tell the music means something.

In a stunning pairing the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Jimi Hendrix opened for the pseudo-musical group The Monkees, Diane Birch will be the opening act for Nick Jonas and The Administration starting in January, 2010.

Nick Jonas is the youngest brother of the teen-pop Disney-promoted group The Jonas Brothers. One could hope that he has assembled a band that can explore music not suitable for TJB (i.e, “real music”), but alas, it seems that his new band’s album, due out in early 2010, will appeal to his TJB fans:

Nick Jonas & the Administration are comprised of four musicians the Jonas Brothers had met and worked with before, Nick writes, describing the sound as ” ‘heart & soul,’ because the music that I make is from my heart, and the lyrics I write are from my soul.”

Barf.

Meanwhile, the pairing can only be good for Diane Birch, one of the best new singer-songwriters to come along in years. Her appearance on Live from Daryl’s House provided ample evidence of her musical chops:

“Diane has one of the best new female voices I’ve heard in quite a while,” said Daryl about the latest new artist to appear on Live From Daryl’s House. “She’s also a very evocative songwriter and kills on the Wurlitzer. We really had a blast.”

Birch is one of the best new artists to hit this past year, and her album Bible Belt should not be missed.