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I’ve posted a couple of times about one of my favorite groups, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and how despite relentless touring and a phenomenal catalog of songs they really don’t get the recognition they deserve. The same can be said of Carbon Leaf. Some of this is probably due to decisions made by the band, for example to leave their major label record company and produce their own music so they can have complete creative control over the music and the process. Still, after 30+ years of making music they still are playing in small clubs.
Carbon Leaf is from Virginia but they have many influences, the most obvious of which is Celtic music. In concert it sometimes feels like you’ve taken a wrong turn and ended up in an Irish pub somewhere. Songs like The Donnybrook Affair and Mary Mac are examples of this.
Much of their music is more intense and thoughtful though. If there ever was a song about war that everyone should listen to, The War Was in Color is it. Not so much a protest song, it simply lays out the realities of war in a way that the video game generation hasn’t had to experience. What About Everything explores being at peace despite being surrounded by the chaos of daily life. Life Less Ordinary looks at a relationship where maybe the love he has isn’t returned in full, at least not yet.
It’s all good stuff and the small venue was packed with fans who know the words to all the songs and the concert is effectively a sing-along. For some reason the venue had scheduled another show after Carbon Leaf so they had a fairly limited set with no opening act and a hard cut-off at 9pm. No worries, it was a great show and just left the crowd looking forward to the next time they’re in town.
