Date: July 11th 2013
Opening Band: Emily Hearn
Band Link: www.carbonleaf.com

Everytime Carbon Leaf comes to town, my wife Kristen and I have to see them play. It’s actually been over a year since the band was last here. They have been playing elsewhere and recording, plus just living their non-band selves as well. They started their tour off at City Winery in New York City, which happened to be sold out. I’d say people certainly missed Carbon Leaf in the Tri-State area!

Before the concert started, we met up with the band to film an upcoming episode of Before The Concert. It was a lot of fun so be sure to stay tune for that one! After filming, we grabbed some yummy food at the venue. Last time I had the burger (pricey but delicious) and this time we got the flat beard and some dessert. City Winery is by far one of the best venues in the area, if not the country if my opinion. It’s the perfect venue for adults basically.

Emily Hearn and her husband hail from Athens, GA and opened up the show. They drove all the way up to NYC to play the show, and think the drive was worth it. The crowd loved Emily’s music, her beautiful singing voice and she had a fun personality on stage as well. I enjoyed her set as well. I just don’t know what was played. The opening acts before Carbon Leaf are usually good so always show up early for their shows.

Carbon Leaf ended up playing for about an hour and half or longer. Probably closer to two hours which is fine by me! The new album Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle was heavily represented, which I didn’t mind since I haven’t heard any of these songs live yet. We got to hear “A Song For The Sea” first and then later on they played “She’s Gone.” I really, really like that one, especially the part where the crowd had to participate. They also played the title track “Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle”, “Oi,” “The Fox and The Hare,” and my new Carbon Leaf favorite “Donnybrook Affair.” I’ve heard them play this in some YouTube clips but haven’t seen it live yet. They also played that one for the Before The Concert episode as well! It’s just a fun Carbon Leaf song! Besides the newer stuff, many of the songs they tend to do live were played like “Life Less Ordinary,” “One Prairie Outpost,” “Comfort,” “The War Was In Color” and “Another Man’s Woman.” They played “Let Your Troubles Roll By” earlier than they usually do, but this time got a little help from their friend and former tour mate. Suzanna was on The Voice this past season or the year before that. I remember she opened up for the band at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC two Decembers ago. They told the funny story where she was carrying a pizza and they watched as the pizza flew out of her hands, onto the street. They said they ate it but I just can’t see someone doing that haha. Maybe I don’t want to think that’s what they did.

I always like when the band does the one mic style and played 3 or 4 songs in that style. I believe it was “Oi,” “Ragtime Carnival,” “The Friendship Song” and one other. They ended the night with the cover of “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp,” which was a great way to to end it! They came back and played “The Boxer” and then an unplugged version of “Learn To Fly.” It amazes me how quiet a place can get when there’s no mics being used (unless its in NJ). All in all, I’m finally glad that Carbon Leaf came back to New York. They will be embarking on a 40 city tour this Fall so be sure to check out their website for dates so you don’t miss out. If you haven’t made a pledge for their new album campaign, be sure to do that as well!

Some photos from the show, see them all at SkaPunkPhotos.com.