A few years ago I fell in love with a CD titled Fearless by Francis Dunnery. I think I heard the song American Life in the Summertime on the radio and may have bought it based on that song. I've played the crap out of it and it is one of my favorite CD's. My cousin Ann in Ohio found out from my blog that I am a fan and I found out that she and her husbands are big fans also. They told me about a House Concert that a friend of theirs had in Ohio and how much they enjoyed it.
A few weeks ago Ann kindly sent me a link on Facebook that there was a house concert here in Arizona and that Francis was playing in Litchfield Park. I contacted the organizer Paul and promptly bought two tickets. The concert was on a Friday (last night) which made me very happy as I have a hard time staying up past 9 on a work night. My husband and I met after work in downtown Phoenix and drove to Litchfield Park together.
Throughout the week I totally googled the organizer Paul. (sorry Paul, I just can't help myself) I did twitter searches on Francis and tried to see if there was any buzz about it. There were a few people out there talking and as the week progressed I was more and more intrigued. What will it be like. What sort of people will be there. What sort of house will it be held in. What should I wear.... my monkey mind was going ADD on me.
So hubby and I arrive in Litchfield sooner than expected and do a drive by so we can see where we are going. We had time to kill so we went up tot he Wig Wam resort and had a drink. I felt a little guilty about it because the show had requested that we not have alchohol during the concert but afterwards was ok. Like a kid who is hiding the smell of alchohol from their parents I made my husband chew a piece of gum on the way in and then promptly reminded him not to embarass me. Please behave. Intimate coffee house style entertainment is way out of his box I hoped he would not fidget.
We arrived at the show right about 7. The front room was packed with about 40 chairs and there was a little stage set up in the front of the room. As we walked into the kitchen there was a table set up with some nice homemade food. Mexican my favorite! Paul's sister or wife made all of the food and it was delicious. Great Guacamole.
As we stood in the kitchen eating our food the audience sort of checked each other out, some intros, some just smiles. It was a diverse crowd. I'd say the average age was 45. Lot's of men with beards. During the show Francis asked what our backgrounds were. There was a good mix, Mexican, Irish, Sicilian, Polish....Looking beyond appearances the group seemed very nice and kind and open. We all came together because we like the music of Francis Dunnery.
I'm used to looking at my Fearless CD and the image of Francis. (Frank). He is older now and has short cropped hair. He has a beautiful Irish face and the voice of an angel. He plays guitar like nobody's business. It was amazing for me to hear his voice live in such an intimate setting. This is a voice that I listen to often. It felt almost strange to hear it acoustic in a living room. When you listen to music like that over and over it becomes a familiar friend and now my friend was right there in front of me. He has wonderfully beautiful lyrics and I was smitten.
The show was not only about music. Francis shared stories about his life and his beliefs in a humorous down to earth manner. It felt like musical psycho therapy with a message. I found it lovely and inspiring and I am very impressed with his openness. I find that brave.
So in short. The show was excellent. It was in a setting that was out of my comfort zone but that made it all the more fun and memorable. If you have the opportunity to go to a house show in your area I would highly recommend it. Keep an open mind and go with the flow. It's worth the experience.
Francis closed with his song Good Life. Which was a perfect ending to a beautiful intimate concert.
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