Music Monday: Tony Lucca, Anna Rose, and Castle Creek

I had another weekend that included live music, so you're getting another recap of sorts.  I hope you don't mind because the way my concert calendar is filling up, this is going to happen a few more times in the coming months.  That's just another reason to love spring and summer in the Midwest -- now that snow storms are less of a threat (I'd say no threat, but I don't want to tempt Mother Nature), musicians are stopping through more often.  I love it!

Friday night, I went to Ames again (the same venue as last week, actually) to see one of my long-time favorites, Tony Lucca.  I've been a fan of his since my early teens (you can read a bit about our history here), which sometimes makes me feel like I've grown up with him.  I still remember the first time I got to meet him (and interview him for the entertainment column I wrote back then).  I was in awe and a little tongue-tied.  Since then, I've met him a number of times and I've grown more comfortable with him.  He makes it very easy, honestly, because he's so down-to-earth and genuine.  I still never quite know what to say to him though, but I'm always grateful for the chance to get a hug and then watch him do his thing.

I look tired and a little rain-drowned, but Tony looks great as always.

The crowd for this show was really small.  I don't think there were more than 60 people in the entire room.  And that total might have included the staff and all the performers.  But Tony and his band --  which was made up of the very talented trio of Keaton Simons, Mic Capdevielle, and Stephen Bentz -- didn't let that stop them. They rocked faces off and were having a blast on stage together, which translated to fun for those watching them. Tony played a bunch of songs from his latest album (as expected), including this one which I think I appreciated more live than I did on the album.

He also played a pre-show request of "So Long" and queued up "Pretty Things" during the encore, which made my concert buddy, Alicia, happy.

There were two other acts on the bill with Tony, though I hadn't heard of either one before this evening.

First up was Castle Creek.  I loved their voices, overall sound, and energy. They were totally in the zone during their set, and the lead guitar guy did some really interesting things with sound equipment.  Here's one of the songs I loved from their set:

Sandwiched between Castle Creek and Tony Lucca was Anna Rose.  I feel like the middle act is always in a tough spot.  The crowd has just made it through the opener and now they're getting antsy for the headliner.  But Anna has a gorgeous voice with some rock tones and I'm confident she earned some new fans on Friday night.  This song was my favorite: