Concert at VEGA

Ryan Cabrera

Last night I went to my first concert of the year - Secondhand Serenade, Ryan Cabrera with special guests Nick Thomas Music, Runaway Saints and Wind In Sails at VEGA in the Railyard on Canopy St. (West Haymarket). It is a pretty small venue, so I was a little worried about being surrounded by throngs of hipsters and creepers in a small space, but it worked out amazingly well. 

I mean sure, there were a fair number of hipsters...I even saw Tim and Jessica's hipster selves from an alternate universe. I mean, full hipster. It was epic and I so wish I'd gotten a picture. There was also Brandon's hipster twin playing guitar in Nick Thomas Music. If you were in a hipster band from South Dakota, Brandon, that would have been you. :)

The information on VEGA's website differed from the Facebook event (FB was right for once), so Cecilia and I missed Wind in Sails, catching the end of Runaway Saints as we walked in the door. Cecilia hadn't eaten dinner yet, so we found actual seats (a hot commodity), planning to join the swarm of fans closer to the stage once Ryan Cabrera came out to perform. 

Nick Thomas Music was ok...the lead singer's (Nick Thomas) facial expressions were the best part of the performance. The music was ok...I wouldn't buy one of their CDs, but he was fun to watch perform. 

The best part of Ryan Cabrera's performance was his backup guitarist (dude with the long hair on the left). I can't find his name, but he was a lot of fun. Don't get me wrong...the music was great and Ryan Cabrera was a good performer, but the guitarist was really enjoying himself, which made it more fun for everyone else. He came out later when Secondhand Serenade was performing and joined the crowd down by the stage. He hung around to chat with people afterward too. He signed Cecilia's ticket with a personal message and took a picture with her.  

I think I own two (well, three...more on that later) Secondhand Serenade CDs, so I was mostly going to see them. The lead singer, John Vesely, was a good performer. It was also fun that his brother Lukas was the other guitarist...and that John's girlfriend, Veronica Ballestrini, sang two songs with them. One of them was "By the Way," which I like a lot. They also cover "Say Something" together. They didn't sing it last night (sad day), but I ran across it on YouTube. 

About half way through the performance something happened to the drums, so John Vesely decided to play the keyboard while we waited for them to fix it. People tried to talk him into singing "Fall for You," but he sang "Twist in My Story" instead. It wasn't on his "normal playlist," so I'm glad he went with that one, since it's one of my favorites. Plus, he ended on "Fall for You," so it was all good. 

At the end of the performance, John Vesely said he'd stick around if anyone wanted autographs, pictures or even just a hug. I think he was surprised at how many people waited to get their picture with him. I bought his new CD "Undefeated" and got him  to sign it (and his brother Lukas, on John's arm in the picture, lol). I also got a picture with him. 

Fun fun!   

 

TGIF and happy weekend, folks!  


~ Katie