Concert Diaries Chapter Ten: An Evening with Ernie Halter

I know it doesn't look like much but
I've seen some good bands there.

I spent a nice evening with Ernie Halter at the Rockwood Music Hall last week.  The Rockwood is a music venue just off Houston Street in Lower Manhattan. Not that I was with Ernie Halter ... but he's very personable and it sort of felt that way.  (I attended this show with a friend but I don't expect my friends to become characters in my blogging hobby so I usually disguise them with pronouns or initials for names.)

Ernie is one of a handful of musicians currently hanging out in Nashville that I follow on Twitter (@erniehalter).  I don't know what it is about Nashville--I've never been there--but I feel drawn to the place and am just waiting for the perfect moment to visit for the first of what I'm sure will be many times.  (And in fact, if I don't get there before May next year, I'm assured of a visit around Memorial Day for the wedding of a friend.)

I think it's fairly safe to say that I favor the singer/songwriter type of musician above all others.  They sing their own thoughts and ideas and emotions; it seems so honest to me.  Even when the song isn't about their own experience but someone else's, I find they are sincere in what they are trying to communicate.  I admire the risks they take, putting their own feelings out there for all to see ... or hear.

Ernie sang and played piano and guitar and chatted with the crowd about his music, visiting New York and his twin daughters for about an hour.  His music runs in the "pop" vein I suppose, or "adult contemporary" as many say today since the pop category is so very broad now.  He told the audience last Tuesday that he likes writing "baby-making music" the most.  And much of what he played was pretty romantic.

The Rockwood is really small and intimate (and very red) so no matter where you are in the room, it's a safe bet that you're going to feel like you're in the front row.  It must be either very comfortable for the performers there because it probably feels like playing in someone's two-story loft living room or maybe nerve wracking for the same reason--so close and nowhere to hide.

I most enjoyed Pretty Girl and Lighthouse, but really I found all his songs spoke to me in some way.  He desperately wanted to play some of his newly written music and managed to get a few songs in (some of which so new he struggled a wee bit with the lyrics) but his fans kept requesting their favorites and he definitely seemed in the mood to give his audience what they wanted.  He mashed some of his popular songs together in order to make the most of his hour at the Rockwood.  He was deft at improvising them together and amusing the audience with silly verses in between songs.  I got the impression that that's the way he rolls as an artist: genuinely wanting his fans to have a great time and charming his way into the hearts of new audience members, like me, too.

Afterwards, he hung out in the bar, signing CD's and taking pictures, chatting with folks.  He was gracious and funny, very generous with his time.  If Ernie Halter is playing in Nashville when I get there, I will be stopping by to hear him again for sure.

~

Lighthouse - The person who filmed this must have been sitting right in front of me.

Let me be your lighthouse
Let me guide your hand
Let me be your shelter
For you, for you I stand

When you feel the dark inside you
And the wind and waves
Keep pushing you down
Feel the whole world pulling you around

Let me be your lighthouse
Let me guide your hand
Let me be your shelter
For you, for you I stand

When you feel the dark inside you
And the moon and stars
Don't lead you nowhere
Feels like no one is watching up there

Let me be your lighthouse
Let me guide your hand
Let me be your shelter
For you, for you I stand

Let me be the one
Standing when you come
Lay your anchor down
And let me wrap my arms around you

Let me be your lighthouse
Let me guide your hand
Let me be your shelter
For you, for you I stand
For you I stand, for you I stand