First off, I'll say that this show is the main reason I didn't go away for my Spring break. After seeing Gregory Alan Isakov at Newport Folk Festival last Summer, I was not going to miss him playing here in my beloved Egg and I bought the first pair of tickets when they went on sale.

He's been around awhile, and has three records and an EP out since 20005 (possibly an earlier one, but I can't find it online). He's still touring on The Weatherman, which was released in July of '13. It's a good record and it's a shame it got no play around here, not even in the weeks leading up to his appearance.

Amsterdam/ This Empty Northern Hemisphere/ O' City Lights/ That Moon Song/ Big Black Car/ The Universe ('planetarium version' played with the lights off)/ St. Valentine/ The Stable Song/ Chelsea Hotel No.2 (Leonard Cohen cover)/ She Always Takes It Black/ Honey, It's Alright/ Second Chances/ Liars/ Dandelion Wine/ All Shades of Blue

The band - Jeb Bows on violin (or is it fiddle here?) Steve Varney on electric guitar and banjo, Phil Parker on cello, and Jamie Mefford on drums - is tight, with gorgeous layered harmonies and backing vocals, and musically, energetically, it was all so much bigger than on any record. (Isn't that why you go to a show??) The greatest example of that came during Big Black Car - lush and full, the strings rich and exuberant so the sound seemed to fill every space in the theater - despite being a song of melancholy. It was one of those moments that sneaks up on you, when the unexpected beauty brings a tear to your eye.

I don't know if he ever played Albany before, but he did recognize The Egg as special, as being "a good place to live out The Apocalypse. We'll all meet here" he said. I will definitely put it on my calendar.