On November 1, 2009, in downtown Atlanta, Ga., at the well known Fox Theater, Ray LaMontagne put on a pleasing performance for music lovers. A soft spoken and introverted person, Ray LaMontagne performs with such passion for life and music, singing his heart out as if to save the world. His raspy but soulful voice captivates the audience from beginning to end. With just one guitar and one spotlight, Ray LaMontagne proved to be a true singer/songwriter by performing a variety of songs from his three albums.
Starting the sold out show, Ray LaMontagne showed his compassion through the uplifting and motivating words of the six minute song "Be Here Now" from the "Till the Sun Turns Black" album. The song contains a tranquil melody to go along with its touching words that pulls one into a mesmerizing state of mind from the very beginning, holding you in there until the very end of the concert.
After a few more songs were played, he had yet to speak to the audience, but then proceeded to tell a disoriented story about Elvis Costello deciding what LaMontagne’s signature song would be. A few familiar strums were played, and the crowd lost it, knowing exactly what it was. "Jolene" tends to be a more popular song among fans because of the real heartbreak he seems to undergo by the depressing tone he holds throughout and the lyrics "I still don’t know what love means." Most people have been "facedown in a ditch" of heartbreak before and these lyrics portray what one goes through after being hurt.
Around the sixth song, LaMontagne decided to play "Empty." After the first few lines, the unexpected happened; he forgot the words. Not only was the audience rowdy, but at a mellow show such as this, there was no need to be rude. He completely stopped playing and admitted to us he had forgotten the words due to people in the audience screaming and clapping. After laughing off the embarrassment of forgetting lyrics, he recollected his thoughts and began playing once again, which turned out to be just as perfect as one could have hoped.
LaMontagne’s expressive cover of the Bee Gee’s "To Love Somebody" was perfectly planned out for being played solo. Usually he covers this song as a duet with another artist, but he preferred to be alone on this night. Considered to be a more upbeat and happier song, "To Love Somebody" takes a twisting turn into the soul making it a bluesy cover of the Bee Gees version.
Making it through two more songs, next on the set list was his radio hit "You are the best thing" from the album "Gossip in the Grain." This song tends to be performed with the backup band and singers making it a happy and upbeat song about being in love. Since LaMontagne’s show was solo, he decided to slow things down, turning it into an undoubtedly, remarkable version, that continued to hold the audience’s attention by the cool sound of his voice.
Towards the end of the show, the powerful vibe had yet to die down. After LaMontagne performed his last song of the set, disappointment rose throughout the small theater. No one within the 5,000 person audience was ready for the end. Row by row, audience members began standing and chanting for the encore. As he walked back out on stage, the mesmerizing feeling was back in the picture and filled the theater once again.
His encore consisted of two songs; "Burn" and "All the Wild Horses." Cold chills crawled down the back of my neck all the way to my toes. The lyrics for both of these songs may be simple and repetitive, but he grasped the audience by the heart, in a way I had never seen before in all of my concert history.
Ray LaMontagne proves with this performance that true singer/songwriters really do exist within this world. He gives performers in the folk genre a reputation of being lyrical geniuses. The show was a memorable performance, put on by a fantastic performer who happens to sound better in person than on a CD, making him a rare find for concert goers.
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