When we last saw our intrepid heroine, she was enjoying Opera. This week, follow her to a totally incredible concert by BRANDI CARLILE!!!

On Friday Katie and I saw Brandi Carlile perform at the 9:30 Club. We first saw her there when she opened for Jamie Cullum, and that performance was good, but this time she was amazing.

First, a half-hour set doesn't give her the chance to really do her thing. But when she's headlining her own tour, she shines. Not only has she improved her audience interaction (think teaching hundreds of people to sing in 3-part harmony) and stage banter, but she's added things that make a going to a concert worthwhile.

For instance, she (along with her bandmates) did an entire song completely unplugged-no amps for the guitars, no microphones for the vocals. The 9:30 Club is the exact right size for it--any larger and it would have been almost impossible to hear her. It also helps that her voice is very strong and can cut through a room much more easily than, say, mine would.

She also gave some really neat background on her life. She has country folk singers on both sides of her family, and she said that the dobro she brought on the tour was making its debut with her because after she started to become well-known, her great-grandmother called her and told her to come get her great-grandfather's dobro, since it now belonged to her.

Of course, she can't play it (apparently it's really complicated), but she has a new member of her band who can!

There were also some stories about her bus driver seeing UFOs and members of her band walking around her yard naked while composing songs, but you kind of had to be there.

She has added some great covers to her repertoire, including a rocking version of "Fulsom Prison Blues". Some of the songs just made me wish I had been able to smuggle in recording equipment so I would have more of her music to listen to!

Funny story from earlier in her tour: She's a huge Elton John fan, so the first time her tour passed through Atlanta, there was a guy waiting for her when they got off her bus. The guy worked for Elton, and he had a huge, beautiful bouquet and a bottle of wine from the year Brandi was born as gifts. She was so excited it took her a while to calm down. :)

Seriously. If she's coming your way, GET TICKETS!!! (this means you, Lindsay and David!)

Tags: concerts, dc life, music