Sister Hazel, Satellite
Lounge, Houston, TX, September 17, 1997
Another great band that I have just gotten into is Sister Hazel. When I last saw them
at the Satellite in May (click here for that review), I didn't
know a thing about them. My friend, Keith, had gone to high school with the lead singer
and told me they had a Top 40 hit. Well, sorry Keith, but at that time, I didn't quite
believe you and had to check old Casey myself, but lo and behold, there they were at
number 30. Anyway, 4 months pass and now their hit "All For You" is a #1 runaway
single. I loved them the first time I saw them, and I love them even more after catching
them at a festival in NC in May and this most recent Houston show.
The most impressive thing about Sister Hazel is that they still seem giddy about the
success of "All For You". They let the crowd do the chorus and stood back in
amazement as their lyrics were screamed back at them. Ken Block, the lead singer,
professed after the song that he had "goosebumps".
OK, more about the show. They played lots from their current CD "Somewhere More
Familiar" including "Happy", "Think About Me",
"Starfish", and "Wanted It To Be", which Ken dedicated to himself
because it was his favorite (mine, too). They also played a couple from their first,
lesser known, self-titled CD, including "Feel It".
They gratiously invited everyone to hang around after the show and proceeded to sign
autographs and chat with fans. They were all very friendly. Since I had on my Big Shindig
shirt from the Raleigh show, most of them made comments about it. I had the most
interesting conversation with the bass player, Jeff Beres, who took the time to explain
their video to me. Here goes: Interspersed with concert footage, there is this side plot
of some street kids pan handling and stealing money. They take all the money to one girl,
who then has a tearful goodbye and proceeds to leave on a bus. Jeff explained that
"All For You" is a love song, but they wanted something a little less ordinary,
so they decided to go for the street kid metaphor. The group was getting money so that one
of them could break out of the street scene and have a better life. He didn't say that
there was any specific reason or place she was going. Each band member had their own
interpretation, and you should, too!!
Sister Hazel is full of talent in all members, but of note is the lead guitarist that
adds a very funky, sort of country twang with his accomplished slide stylings. Ryan Newell
is one of the best guitarists I have seen lately and he compliments nicely the strong
bodied acoustic guitars of Ken and Andrew Copeland. Mark Trojanowski rounds out the group
on the drums. If you haven't already, see these guys before they get huge. It might
already be too late.
On That Note, I'm outta here......
C
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