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I went to my second Damien Rice concert earlier this month in Oakland. It was a completely amazing and brilliant show. Damien is now my favorite musician overtaking Ray LaMontagne. Sorry Ray, I still love your music but the live show is missing something without CT (bassist) and the string section. So for now, Damien is #1.

For those unfamiliar with Damien Rice, he’s an Irish singer/songwriter in the folk rock genre. His 2002 debut album, O, was critically acclaimed. The follow-up album, 9, was released this past November. The critics aren’t bestowing the same praise for 9 as they did on O but nonetheless, I still think it’s a very good album.

Beyond Damien’s talent, the beautiful voice of vocalist, Lisa Hannigan, and the haunting melodies of cellist, Vyvienne Long, make me love Damien’s music. During the Oakland show, the band did an amazing rendition of Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower. Imagine a rendition based primarily on an acoustic guitar, a cello and drums. I was in awe after the song.  

Take a listen to the two videos below and judge for yourself. The first video is a new song off of 9, called Elephant. The second video shows a short interview and a couple of live songs from 9. Damien Rice live is a must see concert. But if you can’t get to a show, download live shows via BitTorrent. IMHO, the El Rey Theatre performance is better. I just hope someone recorded the December 6th show in Oakland!

Ray Lamontagne’s new album, Till the Sun Turns Black, will be released on August, 29th. If you like singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison or Damien Rice, you have to check out Ray Lamontagne.

Ray released his first album, Trouble, in 2004 to critical success. His backstory is quite interesting. Ray was working at a shoe factory for four years and had an epiphany one morning after listening to Stephen Stills at 4:30 in the morning. He immediately quit his job to become a musician.

I saw him live for the first time in 2004 at the Fillmore in San Francisco and then again at the Warfield in 2005. Prior to the first concert, I had listened to Trouble a few times and enjoyed the album. After hearing him live in concert, he completely blew me away. Trouble is a relatively mellow album but he definitely rocks it out in person. Now, Ray is one of my favorite musicians. Here’s Ray performing the title song from Trouble acoustically…

The great thing about Ray is he allows his fans to record his shows. You can download free MP3s and lossless quality songs via bit torrent from this Ray Lamontagne live show trading forum.

I have already pre-ordered Ray’s new album and can’t wait for it to arrive. I’ll update this entry to give you my thoughts and how it compares to Trouble.

Update 10.10.2006
I’ve been listening to Till the Sun Turns Black for the last month and I love the album. Is it as good as Trouble? I think so but it’s definitely different. The new album is more refined and darker than Trouble. I’m really looking forward to seeing Ray perform live on November 13th in Oakland, CA.

Here are a few reviews of Till the Sun Turns Black from:

Stylus Magazine

Sputnikmusic

Gather.com