Hold on to things you can't explain
Hold on to dancing in the rain
Hold on to kisses on the lips
Savor every sweet moment, cause baby this is it
And hold on to things you wanna be
Hold on to friends and family
Hold on to burning summer sun
It makes a difference, every one
Never taking life for granted is a theme throughout much of Jack's work.
Jack Ingram needs to title an album, “In the Moment” because whenever his songs come on- wherever my mind has wandered off to- his music brings it back to the moment.
Jack played at the Irvine Amphitheater last Saturday. The “Showdown at Saddleback”- Presidential Forum was just down the road- I could have been there with the 22,000 other voters that “filled capacity seating” indicates were there. Or I might have chosen to spend the evening with 46,000 other Christians at the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim.
But experiencing a Jack Ingram Concert took priority. It has now – SIX times. Each time was memorable- why?
Jack respects his audience. His show is his gift to the audience. He doesn’t overwhelm the music with flashy sideshow productions, graphics and pyrotechnics. The band understands that they are onstage to support the music. They do not use the stage to hold a contest to find out who can play the loudest. They are there to deliver to the audience a straightforwardly entertaining evening.
Jack’s does something in his live shows which one can't get on radio or CD. It is how he introduces a song. With a short story, he engages the audience as though it is a private one-on-one/ just the two of you.
At the Irvine show, he explained the Hinder lyrics to rock ballad “Lips of An Angel”- Jack says it as a love song: sort of. It’s also a cheating song. The lyrics are of a clearly clandestine conversation between former lovers who discover they “never really moved on”. Jack nailed what makes the song interesting. The two on the telephone might not be “guilty” of physical infidelity- but they certainly should be under suspicion.
The rock band Hinder performed the song first. But Jack did it better because he did it in classic Ingram signature style. He did it simply. He did it well. He did it with love.
If you ever have a chance to chat with Jack- you are going to love that he isn’t going to talk about himself. After the show-I've managed three short audiences- this time he wanted to know my opinion on how the three acts before him did. David Nail, Randy Hauser and Chris Young- I haven’t followed country music the last couple months with my usual intensity- so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect- you were wonderful! My husband wants me to add your CD's to the collection.
Jack's Website is http://www.jackingram.net/default.htm
Jack's photo and the champagne glass are from my personal collection.
The other images are by photographer Gene Sasse, Alta Loma, CA. Used with permission
Jack Ingram sounds like an interesting man/musician - and it was a great decision to go see his concert instead of the other thing :)
ReplyDeleteThe music and the man are as authentic as 501 jeans.
ReplyDeleteAs a working musician- these concerts are his work- it is so refreshing to see someone who loves his job as much as Jack does.