FUV Five Favorite Concerts: Carmel Holt

During the 2014 FUV fall member drive, we're shining a spotlight on live concerts and performances. The FUV on-air staffers compiled individual lists of five memorable and marvelous shows that have stayed with them over the years, for one reason or another.

Carmel Holt (FUV Weekday Host, Assistant Music Director):
This is an impossible task, but here are 5 concerts I'll never forget, in no particular order:

Ryan Adams, solo acoustic, Beacon Theater, October 2002:
This was Ryan's biggest NYC show to date, and it was incredible. He was only a couple years out of his band with Whiskeytown, and had just released his third solo outing, Demolition. I am, and always have been, a diehard fan, and have seen him at every opportunity over the last 12 years, both solo and with his band, The Cardinals. It was hard to pick a favorite show. Was it his Carnegie Hall solo acoustic show back in 2011? Was it with the Cardinals' Halloween show at The Apollo Theater in 2008? But my first Ryan Adams concert still pulls on my heartstrings. I feel so lucky to have seen him at this time in his career. The show pulled material from Heartbreaker, Gold, of course, and the new album. This was also the first time I experienced Ryan's deadpan humor, which I have come to look forward to as much as the music. That night we got a few breaks in the beautiful sadness with fun and silly covers like "Brown Sugar" and, most memorably, Madonna's "Like A Virgin".

Mumford & Sons at Levon Helm's Midnight Ramble, March 2012:
It is absolutely impossible to pick a favorite Midnight Ramble. I spent many a night at Levon's barn in Woodstock, and feel so blessed to have done so. I think this one stands out in my memory because it was one of the last. It was also just a couple weeks after Levon won his last Grammy for the live album, Ramble At The Ryman, and Mumford & Sons were nominated for four awards. It was amazing to see them perform in such a small space, and it was especially moving to see how excited such a young band was to be in the house of the legendary Levon Helm, a testament to his influence and that of The Band, across generations. To be there to witness Mumford doing the traditional Ramble closer, "The Weight," was something I'll always remember. I was so lucky that I got to attend one of the very last performances Levon ever gave, just weeks before he passed.

Feist and Grizzly Bear, Town Hall, June 2007 or Feist at Brooklyn Academy of Music, November 2011:
It was hardest to choose a favorite Feist concert. At BAM where she brought about 100 audience members on stage with her, who sat surrounding her as she played, campfire style? Or the last show I saw of hers, at the sold-out Radio City Music Hall, commanding a 30-member-plus group, which included horns, strings, the trio of female backing vocalists dubbed Mountain Man, and a core band featuring Broken Social Scene guitarist Charles Spearin? Suffice it to say, she is spectacular live, and an absolute MUST if you haven't had the pleasure yet.

Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating The Music of Inside Llewyn Davis, September 2013, Town Hall:
Say what you will about the latest Coen Brothers film (I loved it), but there is no denying that this concert was a historic night with so many awe-inspiring performances and fantastic displays of musicianship and heart. To begin with, John Goodman was our host, and it was one fantastic performance after the next: Elvis Costello, The Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Conor Oberst, Punch Brothers, Dave Rawlings Machine, The Secret Sisters, Patti Smith, Willie Watson, Gillian Welch, Jack White, and from the cast of "Inside Llewyn Davis," including Oscar Isaacs, John Goodman, Carey Mulligan and Stark Sands. Good thing they made a concert film from this evening, because it's too good to not be available to everyone, worldwide. And it will never happen again.

Damon Albarn at Irving Plaza, June 2014:
It is difficult to say enough superlative words about Damon Albarn. He is, and I mean this in the truest sense of the word, brilliant. From Blur, to Gorillaz, to The Good, The Bad & The Queen, plus his two operas and now, with his solo debut Everyday Robots, there is seemingly nothing he can't do. And this show proved it. A career-spanning, jaw-dropping performance from Damon and his band, The Heavy Seas, complete with a gospel choir, string section, and guest rapper Vic Mensa, was hands-down, one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Honorable Mentions:
Grizzly Bear and Beach House, Vassar College Chapel, Poughkeepsie, October 9, 2009:
This sold-out show at Vassar's stunning 100-year old chapel was as visually memorable as it was sonically. The band was arriving at a peak, having just released Veckatimest, and they made full use of the soaring acoustics and ethereal atmosphere. The backdrop was an enormous pipe organ, and the stage was lit by mason jars suspended in air, that would illuminate and dim in time with the music. Once I saw Grizzly Bear's chamber-pop songs and perfect harmonies in that space, I never wanted to see them anywhere else.

Beck and Flaming Lips, Halloween, 2002:
It seemed like a strange combination on paper, especially since Beck was touring his melancholy, mostly acoustic, Sea Change album, but the meeting of those brilliant minds on stage was thrilling. The show opened with Lips, doing five songs, while big animal costumed characters roamed the aisles and meandered on stage with the band, then Beck came out solo acoustic, and then the backdrop raised to reveal the Lips behind it, serving as Beck's backing band.

The Allman Brothers Band at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Colorado, August 1991:
My best friend from college and I were driving across the country from California back to New York, and stopped in Boulder. At a local record store we found out that the Allmans were playing at Red Rocks in a few days. I was a gigantic fan, and had never been to Red Rocks before. It's the world’s only naturally occurring acoustically perfect amphitheater, and many bands have made concert films there for the otherwordly backdrop and sound (most famous one is U2's Under A Blood Red Sky). The lineup was just getting solid after a few rocky years, with new members Warren Haynes and Allen Woody joining the band, the renewed energy in that incredible place was palpable.