June 19, 2014 – Columbus, OH – Broken Bells, Elf Power

Venue:  Promowest Pavilion (Indoor)

I have enjoyed just about everything that James Mercer has done since the mid 2000s when I first got into The Shins with 'Chutes Too Marrow' and then 'Wincing the Night Away'.  Broken Bells is an awesome collaboration between himself and producer Danger Mouse, and I have been a huge fan of their since the first single dropped in 2010.

I planned this concert and brought Joe and Chuck.  It was one of the first shows with this particular ongoing concert and show watching group. 

I don't have an amazing amount to write about the concert, despite my excitement at finally getting a chance to see them.  Like The Shins show I saw, James Mercer and crew do a fantastic job at playing their songs and the connection that he builds with the audience through his emoting and singing is worth the ticket and the trip to a city a couple hours away.

I have an interesting relationship with their first album.  My ex-fiance used to cover the song 'Vaporize' quite often live and I can't help but think of her when it is played.  On top of that, I got into a rut in 2013 and listened to nothing but their first album from front to back while running for about two months.  I know their music and their first self-titled album exceedingly well and it was surreal and special to see them live.

Two stupid things happened during the concert: 

A group of three Bonnaroo tie-dye shirt wearing stoners got right in front of us towards the end of the show and were really annoying.  The one big one didn't have any reaction to the band until they played the song 'Medicine'.

The other stupid thing was that Broken Bells projector overheated, leaving them playing with a windows error message projected largely on the round screen behind them for a song or two before someone rebooted it.  I was enjoying myself so much, that for a brief moment I told myself that it was an intended part of the show, and maybe it went along with one of the songs.

There is little wrong with harmless postive thinking.