March 10, 2010

All the love you ever felt

old believers tent

Last weekend I shuffled into a smalltown venue I’d never been to, on the streets of hippie enclave Manitou Springs (my neighbor to the west) to see Laura Veirs play and sing in a hometown show. I knew nothing about the opening bands, but was immediately smitten when lone Nelson Kempf from Old Believers came out on stage, kicked his looping beats into effect, and starting strumming and playing this:

it's with you nowIt’s With You Now (Red River cover) – The Old Believers



His version was different in every way from this 7″ vinyl version with the full band (and female lead vocals). Not only were we treated to the purity of him alone, his earnest voice, and an acoustic guitar, but he led us all in a singalong (bold move for a first song from an opening band, but it worked. Completely). We sang along “all the love, all the love….” in time with that bass line, and I swooned for the lyrics. Everything suddenly felt very warm and very right.

When the rest of the members came out on stage to join him, the music they crafted for us was reminiscent of a cross between Apostle of Hustle and Josh Ritter. If it sounds like fun, that’s because it absolutely was, and I am now actively seeking what else I can find about this small band.

old_believers-eight_golden_greatsGranny’s Song – Old Believers





Their full-length Eight Golden Greats came out in ’08, new one rumored to be in the works. Old Believers and Red River are both part of the Brave Records label out of Portland, and both are charming my speakers currently.

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3 Comments

  • So how was Laura V (apart from very pregnant)? She has made one of my albums of the year so far. Yes, the year is yet young, but it’s also got off to an excellent start.

    Andrew — March 10, 2010 @ 10:33 am

  • I’m so so so so happy you found this. It’s been haunting me ever since we both looked at each other with little bursts of light in our eyes after he was finished.

    Kathleen — March 10, 2010 @ 7:08 pm

  • i love that you are in san francisco, commenting on my blog. hurry home, i miss those bursts of light.

    browneheather — March 10, 2010 @ 8:08 pm

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Bio Pic Name: Heather Browne
Location: Colorado, originally by way of California
Giving context to the torrent since 2005.

"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel."
—Hunter S. Thompson

Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.

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