We first saw IO Echo in Seattle in October of '07. They and Kenna were opening for She Wants Revenge. I had never heard of IO Echo, but by the end of the set I was a fan. I bought the cd they were selling at the venue and soon became my own street team for spreading the word about this incredible band. I had done the same with Kenna after hearing him for the first time in '03. When I fall in love with an artist who doesn't get the radio airplay or media attention that others get, I tend to go into uber-fan mode and do what I can to get people to notice them. It's the music-addict-geek in me, I guess, that makes me do it...
Anyway, since moving to Denver, I wasn't sure if and when I would get to see IO Echo live again, and once I saw that they would be playing here, I knew I had to go. I wasn't sure how we would do it as every penny we have is watched pretty carefully these days. But then by pure chance and luck, an opportunity came to me that I could not and would not pass up. We were going to see the band! Thank you Joanna for that gracious gift.
We got to the theater early-ish and got a spot dead center in front of the stage, not on the floor as it's about 4' below the stage, but on the first tier up - maybe 5 feet from the stage. Perfect. When the band came out I was one of just a few people to scream and whoop, but by the end of the set, the whole audience was clapping and cheering. And it's not a surprise.
Starting out with some new songs that will hopefully find their way onto a cd in the near future, I was totally impressed. Then Joanna announced that she had been battling bronchitis - you would have NEVER guessed, she sounded great. Soon came "While You Are Sleeping" which started with Joanna down on her knees on the stage and worked her way up to bouncing around. "I'm On Fire" started and my hubby said to me, "this is where she wins over the crowd." And she did. This song starts "quiet, they're all so quiet." It lingers and then like a kick to the face the drums and guitars assault the senses while she wails "I'm on fire!" - only to go back to the soothingly soft sounds of the beginning of the song. The set ended with "Doorway" which is one of my favorite songs. Still no signs of the bronchitis Joanna had been fighting - she sounded spot on. They left the stage to a cheering crowd, as it should be.
I got some pictures from the set, here are a few of them:
After the set we headed up to the merch counter, in hopes that they would be there. Leo was behind the counter, and the other band members, plus a few others were there talking. Finally, Joanna came up. She talked to the boys for a minute, then as I was going to go say hi, she turned around, saw me, said hi to me by name (uh, yeah, super cool that she knew who I was), and gave me a hug. We talked for a bit, I bought a limited edition t-shirt, then I got a pic with Joanna and Leo. We then went and watched A Place To Bury Strangers (which was good, albeit too loud - the guitars were way too loud and the vocals way too quiet - but still good music and a good set), and then headed home.
I had the best night - out with my wonderful hubby, an amazing live show in a great little venue, chatting with Joanna - couldn't have asked for more from date night! Thanks to IO Echo for their great performance!
Check out IO Echo on Facebook and MySpace. Listen to the music, become a fan. And if you get the chance to see them live, do!
Thanks for reading from Rdwnggrl's World!
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