Griffin House @ The Listening Booth, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Featured, Live Reviews | Oct 16th, 2023
Date: October 15th, 2023
One of my favorite singer/songwriters, Griffin House, made a stop in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at The Listening Booth (now located in the Tanger Outlets) on October 15th 2023. It’s been roughly 12 years since last seeing him perform at City Winery in NYC with Charlie Mars. Since then, Griffin has released quite a few albums including his new EP called The Tides.
The Listening Booth is mainly for singer/songwriters, and has started doing open mics and comedy as well. It was located in Lewes, and moved around to a few pop-up spots before finding a permanent location in the Outlets in Rehoboth Beach on Coastal Highway. It’s a nice little spot where you can get a drink or snack and see some non-cover acts perform in the area. The more venues and spots for musicians and artists to perform in southern Delaware – the better! This was the first show I saw there and I’m sure it won’t be my last.
Before the show began, I talked with Griffin about seeing him at City Winery in 2011 and seeing him open up for The Cranberries in 2009 at Nokia Theatre (now Palladium Times Square). Griffin came out and started with “Go Through It” from his album “Balls.” He played two sets, with a 15-20 minute or so intermission since there were no openers. Griffin commented about not wanting to make eye contact with the crowd since it was a little bright in the audience. One of the reasons why I like Griffin House is not only for his songs, but he’s also a gifted storyteller. Even if I heard some of the intros to some songs before, it still put a smile on my face or made me laugh.
For the first set, he played songs like one of my favorites “River City Lights,” as well “If You Want To,” “I Remember (It’s Happening Again)” but also played songs I never heard live before like “Mississippi Hippie” and “Guido.” Those were some funny ones. At one point during this portion of the set, Griffin got the crowd into it with some clapping for the song “Let Me In.”
After the intermission, Griffin called me out for bringing up the Cranberries and touring parts of the country with the band. He was on tour with his wife as well. He talked about what it was like being a touring musician and the sudden and tragic death of Dolores O’Riordan a few years ago. He then talked about the hardships of trying to start a family which I think most people could relate to when it comes to miscarriages. I know I can. I apologized after for bringing up hard memories but he was okay with it. He has kids now, as I do so sometimes life works out fine in the end. He then went into the song “Lifeline,” I believe from his new album. He also played songs like “Never Again,” “Once Upon a time in Ballard Town,” “Liberty Line,” “The Guy That Says Goodbye To You…” and finished up with “Better Than Love.” I was hoping he’d play “Vacation” or “Yesterday Lies” but I guess I should have requested that before the show when I talked with him.
It was awesome to see Griffin House perform at The Listening Booth in Rehoboth Beach, and doesn’t hurt that it was a short drive home either. Thanks to Marissa for booking him and providing artists another spot to play in town!
