Andrew Belle Concert Review at The Mint

This post is about a week and a half late but better late then never right? I've been wanting to start reviewing shows on this blog since I go to so many and what better way to start reviewing then with a show that provoked my post on concert etiquette (see previous post).

Andrew Belle is one of my favorite new artists out of Nashville and I have been eager to see him live ever since I got sick and missed the Ten Out Of Tenn show in Hollywood. I bought tickets right away for his show at The Mint and I'll preface with saying that he did not disappoint. The venue however did. This was my first time at The Mint and I'm not sure I'll ever go back. I don't think I've ever been so irritated at a concert before and I'm a pretty easy going person.

Schuyler Fisk opened accompanied by Ryan Lerman on guitar. Schuyler is also the daughter of Sissy Spacek, who was in attendance, and an actress herself (Any fans of The Baby Sitter's Club?). It was our first experience with her music and we were all really impressed. Unfortunately the sound guy was having some issues with levels and feed back. Its a lesson all musicians have had to learn, you are only as good as your sound guy. Despite the technical issues Schuyler and company were really refreshing. My favorite songs from her set were, What If I Leave, You Hung The Moon, and a cover of You Belong To Me that was absolutely fantastic.

Next up was the headliner of the night Andrew Belle. He played solo on acoustic guitar and played all my favorites. It would have been a perfect set except the fact that the whole crew of people who came for Schuyler were off to the side talking loudly during Andrew's set. Imagine like 15-20 people trying to talk over the music. That accompanied with two very tall girls working their way right before the start of the show through the crowd only to stop front and center video taping the whole set just put me on edge. Andrew handled it all well and the crowd there for Andrew tried to shush the talking people the best we could but they were totally oblivious.

Andrew Belle was great interacting with the crowd sharing funny stories and even allowing two girls who politely asked to come sit on stage for one of his songs. Even without a full band behind him his performance had depth and emotion and captivated all those who were there to see him. After the show I waited for quite a while to go up and meet him. Being that he is tall and pretty easy on the eyes the girls at the show swarmed up to meet him and take pictures. I hate being considered one of those girls so I waited my turn until they had all gone. I'm a music industry professional after all not a groupie. Yet for some reason when I finally got up to talk to him I freaked out! I got really nervous and shaky. I work at a major record label and deal with big acts all the time and I never get nervous. What was wrong with me?? Maybe it was that the band playing at that point was so loud that all the things I had to say to him became too difficult with the noise. Sometimes my old nerves hit me out of no where. In any case I left feeling like an idiot. Sorry Andrew, I'm normally more composed. Thanks for putting on a great show despite the obnoxious L.A. crowd. Comeback again soon!