I can’t quite remember where I learned about Sarah Mac Band, but I heard of them maybe a couple of years ago. However I heard of them, I liked their music enough to buy a CD. One of their songs is even on my jogging playlist. (You can listen to “Freight Train” on their website.)
I’ve wanted to see them live for quite some time, but my schedule didn’t match up with theirs until last night. The show was definitely worth the wait.
I went to The Hideaway Café a little early to grab a good seat and some dinner. Even though I arrived an hour early, the place was still pretty full. I tried to take a seat, but a group of women saved four seats for friends who hadn’t yet arrived. I wasn’t amused, since I’m not a big fan of “savesies.” But my seat diversion turned out to be a good thing, because I sat next to a wonderful woman, and we talked throughout the evening. (I think I even converted her to the house concert community!) And when two of the saved seats remained unfilled, we were joined by two more woman who we chatted the night away with. (Turns out that my seat neighbor and one of the new neighbors were almost literal neighbors in Pensacola. Small world!) If I had sat in my initial seat, I might not have made new friends…
Nearly right on time the Sarah Mac Band started their show. The band is made up of Sarah Mac (of course), Charlie (lead guitar), and Claire (bass). The energy among the band mates was really amazing. They joked with each other and the crowd in between songs, as they shared stories from the road. You can just tell they are having the time of their lives when they are on stage.
Sarah’s voice is as amazing as it is on their CDs, Charlie’s guitar playing skills were awesome to watch and listen to, and Claire drifted seamlessly back and forth between playing electric bass and bass ukulele with ease. Sarah played a song on guitar that she had written and played only on piano, translating the music in her head as she played. Amazing skill amongst the whole band.
The sound of their music definitely had a bluesy, folksy theme to it, but song genres covered a lot of ground. They did a cover of Chris Issac’s “Wicked Games,” and a really unique, but awesome, cover of Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All.”
Throughout both sets I felt an electric energy buzzing in my gut that kept me out of my seat and swaying along with the music. You know, that buzzing that keeps me going to live shows in intimate settings. There’s just nothing like it.
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I want to give a shout out to Swearingen and Kelli in this post too. I saw them at The Hideaway Café earlier this year and then at The Ale and the Witch in late July. They are an amazing musical pair, but I didn’t quite get around to blogging about those shows. Lovely vocals accompanied by musical prowess. They have a new video out, so check them out too!!