I love live music.  Whether it be heading into a dark bar or catching it outside on a beautiful summer day, a good concert can’t be beat.  What’s better than a free concert featuring national acts?  Not much that I can think of, unless they provide free drinks as well.  While the second part might only be a dream, here are two opportunities locally to enjoy free music.
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Ah freezing rain, how I love thee.

Due to the horrible weather last night, I was not able to make it to Madison to catch the Jonathan Coulton concert – a show I was anticipating since his last gig here nearly a year ago.  I keep hearing about the concert from friends that were there, and really wish I could have seen it.  Since I could not be there in person, I am now trying the next best thing.

This is a bit of a social experiment to see if I can find the concert in its entirety on the Internet.  Mr. Coulton is quite wonderful about letting patrons record his show and toss it up on the web.  I’ve already got two friends that have told me they recorded part of the show (“Mr. Fancy Pants” and “Famous Blue Raincoat” – which was one of my twitter requests).

So this leaves me with two dilemmas – determining the rest of the set list, and finding videos of these songs online.  I think it can be done.  If you know where I can find either, please post in the comments or hit me up on twitter (The_Dean) with links.

As for Mr. Coulton, he will be compensated in this endeavor.  If I can pull this off, I will make a donation to him via his website and pick up BEST.CONCERT.EVER. on DVD once it is released.  Any help in this experiment would be awesome and greatly appreciated.

More on Jonathan Coulton.

Geek-esque singer Jonathan Coulton makes a return trip to Madison Thursday, February 26.  Coulton will play the Barrymore Theater with opening act Paul and Storm.  Tickets are $18.

This is Coulton’s first return visit since his May 2 show last year.

Known for his lyrics involving super-villains, math, zombies and technology, Coulton has established himself as the premiere geek folk singer of his time.  He recently traveled with Jonathan Hodegman (best know as “PC” from the Mac vs. PC ads) to help him promote his book “More Information Than You Require.”

To listen to Coulton’s complete collection for free, check out his website.  Also, check out my Cap Times article prior to his last appearance for more fun information.  A quick review of Coulton’s May show can be found here.

Those not familiar with Jonathan Coulton are probably the type of people that “have lives.”

When opening band Paul & Storm asked the audance to produce a 20-sided die, you could see numerous people in attendance frantically searching their bags to try and find one. When Coulton himself took the stage, a fan was able to produce a power adapter for his Apple Powerbook that was low on battery life.

Such is the audience at a Coulton concert.

This is the second time I’ve seen Coulton with Paul & Storm opening. It’s less a matter of an opening act and a headliner as two bands that work together well. Paul & Storm provide backup for many of Coulton’s song.

The end result – three hours of laughter and music in the key of geek.

Related links:

My interview with Coulton for 77 Square – “Songwriter embraces lyrical nerdiness”

Madisonite John Kovalic of “Dork Tower’s” cartoon about Coulton’s show tonight.

A link to Mr. Coulotn’s music online.

This is quite possibly the best mash-up ever. View it quick before the the RIAA gets their hands on it and takes down this creative genius.

For the past decade, the battle between consumers and the RIAA raged. Consumers wanted the right to use music they purchased however or on whatever they desired. The RIAA rejected this notion, and sued customers that digitally traded copies of albums. The RIAA shunned its consumers, and polluted their product with digital rights management (DRM), preventing customers from using their music how they wanted. While this battle raged, most bands sat quietly on the sidelines or cheered on the RIAA (see Metallica).

Those days may be over.

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Finally decided to pick up Brad Paisley’s new album “5^th Gear.”  Paisley is an artist I’e always enjoyed, and one of the few country performers I want to see live, but have not yet had a chance. Paisley is one of the few country artists I consider “real;” he doesn’t seem to make songs in order to make hits, rather he makes songs about life and that are fun and they become hits. Most country artists today subscribe to the first theory, which is why country music is becoming crap again.

I have never picked up a Paisley album before, so I was not sure what to expect. I have enjoyed most of the songs that get radio play, but were those the only good songs on the album? After listening to it, I’ve determined it is the best country album since Big & Rich’s “Horse of a Different Color.”

Don’t even think about clicking “read the full story,” unless you want to miss one of the coolest music videos of all time.

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